


Blessing X Curse

by allu-ria (waffelingaround)



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mystical Beasts, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Gore, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Youkai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waffelingaround/pseuds/allu-ria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one is sure how it exactly happened, but thousands of years ago, the blood of humans and magical creatures mixed. Soon, over generations and generations, about 95% of the human population had at least a bit of non-human heritage - this was called Youkai Blood. Ever since then, for unknown reasons, the number of mystical creatures has steadily dropped. Only 2% have have physical forms while the rest remain on earth as spirits giving blessings.</p>
<p>Gon Freecss is excited to enter the Hunter Association Academy, a prestigious school designed to train people with youkai blood and blessings from the age 14 years and up. He’s one of the few who made passed the entrance exam despite barely making the age requirement – it’s an amazing feat, considering his condition… but anyways, he can’t wait to meet new friends in a new environment. It’s only his first year, so he isn’t expecting anything to crazy to happen. But after having to deal with keeping his identity a secret, meeting strange upperclassmen, working with 3 other classmates with their own secrets, and disappearing students, Gon isn’t so sure anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello i'm back and with a fic from [hxhbb](http://hxhbb.tumblr.com) as promised! I honestly almost gave up on this... but fortunately I decided to stick till the end and somehow managed to finish it on time! Thank you [gonprohunter](http://gonprohunter.tumblr.com) for making art for it as well

If Aunt Mito had to describe Gon in one word, it would be  _lucky._

Sure, the boy was talented. Most of his achievements were won with effort and hard training - there was no luck involved with his dedication. When Gon had declared his desire to enroll in the Hunter Association's Academy at the age of twelve, Mito had immediately shut him down. _It's too dangerous, especially for someone like you._ but those words made Gon all the more determined. It wasn't luck that had helped him change Mito's mind - it was two long years of begging, pleading, and arguing that had finally made his foster mother give in. 

No, Aunt Mito would describe Gon as lucky not because he had accomplished so much, but because he was alive. 

There had been too many incidents where Gon had faced death head on -despite so, the boy seemed indestructible. He always came back home, bruised up a bit, but... seemingly fine. He'd meet dangerous creatures in the forest of Whale Island, yet come back with a small scratch and nothing more. Yes, Gon was a very blessed child. 

He had, after all, met Kite 5 years ago.

Or perhaps, it wasn't a blessing - more of something like a curse, or destiny. Gon was alive but what had been the cost? A human does not simply allude death every day with ease. In a way, Mito assumed, Gon had given up his safety. His home. His family.

In retrospect, the  _incident,_ as Gon liked to call it, had been more than a simple mistake, more that just escaping death for one more day. More than just luck. 

As much as Mito hated to admit it, the fact that Gon was going to the Hunter Association's Academy had been inevitable since birth. The incident five years ago had simply made it clearer...

 

* * *

When Gon was nine years old, a wild werewolf escaped to Whale Island. 

Of the 2% of Magical Creatures in the world that still held physical forms, werewolves were deemed to be the most dangerous. Anything related to them was banned, shunned, and feared in society. Even the people unfortunate to have the _tiniest_ bit of blood relation to them were considered to be a threat. There was even a hunter subgroup dedicated entirely to eradicating werewolves.

Having werewolf blood and having a werewolf’s blessing were as different as day and night. Werewolf blood only made the human have small physical enhancements – nothing more, nothing less. Most people with werewolf’s blood were relatively harmless.

Mystical Creatures all gave blessings in their own unique way. Werewolves gave theirs by attacking and scratching a human with their claws. Even the tiniest of scratches would give the human a blessing. This _‘blessing’_ would then enable the human to turn into a werewolf themselves at any time. The only downfall of that was every time a human transformed, their mind would slowly deteriorate until only animalistic instincts were left. Having a werewolf’s blessing and not transforming at one point was also impossible – the full moon would force the human with the werewolf’s blessing to transform. It was quite a sad situation, and most humans referred to this as a ‘curse’ rather than a ‘blessing.’

Mito knew all of this and made sure to securely tighten the windows and lock the doors shut. The emergency alarms in the small village had blared to life a few hours ago, reporting that the werewolf had been sighted in the Forest of Whale Island and the Hunter Association would be bringing reinforcements as soon as possible.

Whale Island had its fair share of Mystical Creatures in the forest, but the werewolf was not part of the ‘fair share.’ In fact, no one was particularly sure where the beasts lived and where they came from.

The only source of light Mito had was the full moon, hanging low in the sky and illuminating the ground. She blearily checked the clock – 3 AM. The emergency alarm still rang, its shrilly yell echoing around the small settlement.

A creak from upstairs alerted Mito that Gon had woken up. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the small child was slowly walking down the stairs with a suspicious satchel in hand.

“What’re you doing up, Gon? It’s late – go back to bed and ignore the alarms. The Hun- the authorities have it under control.”

Gon nearly jumped out of his skin upon hearing Aunt Mito’s voice, guilty shifting around. “O-Oh, Aunt Mito! Didn’t know you were awake. I was just worried. About the forest.”

A horrified flash of understanding passed Mito’s face. She eyed the satchel and Gon’s tense figure tersely.

“Oh no you don’t Gon. You are _not_ going outside. There’s a dangerous monster _in that very forest._ You’d get hurt – maybe even die.”

The aspect of death didn’t seem to bother him much. Gon pouted. “But that monster is also endangering the forest and the creatures in it! What if _they_ die? Then – then,”

“Then it’s not your fault,” Mito scolded. Then her expression softened. “I told you, the big adults have it all under control. The creatures of the forest are safe – don’t worry a thing.”

Gon gave her a defeated look. “Fine… goodnight, Aunt Mito!”  He bounded back up the stairs, and Mito couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. Gon was an amazingly stubborn child, but this time he had let the matter go easily. A bit suspicious, really…

_It’s probably nothing,_ Mito thought. After another hour of restlessness, the alarms stopped. Satisfied, she made her way upstairs. She would have to make breakfast soon. A cold breeze hit Mito’s face and she sluggishly tried to find the source. _Did Gon leave his window’s open again? I swear that child is sometimes as irresponsible as his father…_

Mito froze, blood running cold. _The window… the window!_

The window was a perfect way to escape the house without using the front door. Mito tried to laugh it off. _Gon… he isn’t that crazy. He would never…_

Yet she found herself approaching his open door with dread.

And sure enough, the bed was empty and the windows were wide open.

__

_Sorry, Aunt Mito!_

The moon gave little light, but that light was all Gon needed to navigate the thick branches and bushes of the Forest. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, and where he was going _exactly,_ but some sort of sixth sense told him he was needed. That the forest was being endangered.

There was nobody on the island who knew the innards of the forest better than he did. He had explored every crook and nanny within, making friends with many of the creatures there. Gon was told quite often by the visiting adults that he had a Special Affinity with the forest. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he did know he shared a special connection to the woods.

The forest had always been Gon’s second home – a sturdy place where he was safe. But, something, some _monster,_ had taken away that sense of safety.

Mito’s words echoed around his head. _There is a very dangerous monster in that very forest. You’d get hurt – maybe even die._ For some reason, the idea that he was in a dangerous situation… it filled him with anticipation more than anything.

This was serious. This was life and death. _This is when I prove to Aunt Mito I’m strong and brave enough to go to the Main Cities!_

Aunt Mito always found an excuse to why Gon was always stuck home and never got an opportunity to leave the small island. _You’re too young. The city is too big. It’s not safe._

“But the villagers go there all the time!” Gon would rebuttal. “How come they get to go and I can’t?”

Then Mito would caress Gon and tell him when he was an adult he could go. But what defined an ‘adult?’

Deep in his thoughts, Gon almost missed it.

A stream of moonlight shone in a small grove nestled somewhere deep in the forest, reflecting off of a large, hunched over fur figure.

It was a second too late when Gon realized how underprepared he was – no weapon, no protection. Nothing but his small 9-year old self and his pajamas.

The monster turned around, letting out a deep growl and looking directly at Gon. He froze, unable to move, unable to breathe. It was bigger than he had expected, with long needle-like claws and glowing yellow eyes and blood-matted fur. It began to slowly crawl towards Gon.

_Move!_ Gon frantically thought to himself. Yet his body did not obey – he simply stood there, in fear, watching his time of death get closer and closer…

_I’m gonna die._

He bolted – that thought was enough to unhinge him from the ground. Gon stumbled to the right just as the creature pounced. He felt a throb of pain on his right upper-arm.  _At least he didn’t maul my face, or anything,_ Gon silently mulled, looking at it wound. Or, what he thought was a wound. It was certainly strange. Three claw marks had ripped through the sleeves of his shirt, cutting directing into his skin. Yet there was no blood – in fact, the scratch marks were glowing with a purple hue in the luminescence of the night.

Gon had been too enraptured by the strange marks on his skin to realize the monster was still there, getting ready to pounce once more. No time to move this time – with a strangled yell, he put out his arms as means of a shield only to fall backwards when something pushed him aside.

It was a human – not another monster, thank goodness – with long white hair and a blue cap. With sickening realization, Gon saw the body of the monster laying limp and its head cleanly cut off of its body.

He would of have hurled if it weren’t for the stinging across his cheek.

_Oh… I just got slapped…?_

“Idiot! Didn’t you hear the alarms about the werewolf running wild? Do you _want_ to die?”

Gon only stared fearfully, slowly shaking his head.

The man sighed. “Your parents must be worried sick. What’s your name?”

“I’m Gon Freeccs,” he stated. “I… I don’t have parents, but I do have my Aunt.”

“Ok G-” the man suddenly paused, paling. “D-Did you just say Freeccs?”

“Y-yeah…”

The man widened his eyes. “I’m Kite, a good friend of your father.”

“You mean my dad’s alive?”

Kite nodded warmly. “Yes, he’s somewhere out there – definitely not dead. He’s too stubborn to die.” He chuckled as if he were laughing at an inside joke. “Thank goodness you didn’t get scratched. Your father… well, I don’t know how your father would of reacted. But it would have been bad.”

Gon felt a bit guilty for breaking Kite’s reassurance. “But I did get scratched. It doesn’t really hurt though.”

“You _what?”_

Sure enough, on Gon’s right arm was the three claw marks that still glowed with a strange purple light.

_The mark of a blessing._ Kite gulped, remembering his issued orders.

_Find and eradicate the monster as fast as possible. And if any of the residents happen to get cursed, kill them immediately. We don’t need any more of those things polluting the nation._

Gon gave him an innocent smile. Kite’s weapon in hand – a scythe – grew slippery in his clammy hands.

“G-Gon,” Kite awkwardly said. “I’m not sure how to explain this but…”

It turned out, Kite didn’t have to explain it. Because in that moment, the little grove in which the two were resting in exploded with a green glow.

The trees around them shook and twisted, branches extending and retracting to form the image of a woman. Thick vines and all different kinds of flowers spouted from the ground, enveloping Gon’s feet with greenery. Kite stumbled backwards, falling into tall grass and watching the scene before him in awe.

_This is… the Keeper of the Forest, the Queen Nymph of this Island,_ he silently thought. Nymphs, dryads, and all other kinds of nature spirits were generally weak. Their blessings were quite common and mundane, almost. Yet Queen Nymphs were different. A Queen Nymph, in a forest, was the protector and leader of the forest it was in. Their magic was older and stronger than normal nymphs. Yet, they only showed themselves to the most trustworthy humans and blessed only a handful in a century.

_Do not fret_

_About things as death and curses_

_Take my blessing_

_And knowledge_

_My power, my strength_

_And use them_

_For life has great plans for you, Gon Freeccs_

_The sun will be your weapon,_

_The moon be your shield_

A sense of understanding filled Gon during the strange process – he knew what was happening, who was doing it, and that he was being saved.

_I’m being blessed._

It was something that had never happened before – a single human getting _two_ blessings. Nobody knew what that meant, and how it would affect Gon. But not knowing was better than dying, so Gon accepted the gift with gratitude.

_Thank you, keeper of the forest. I’ll make sure to keep your blessing and use it well._

_I promise._

* * *

Things were hectic after the incident – after many phone calls with the Hunter’s Association, Gon was allowed to live and even enroll in the Hunter Association's Academy.

“We don’t know what having two blessings entail. It’ll most likely be more Aura Capacity, but less power. Or reversed, since it seems the werewolf’s blessing is almost completely gone due to the Forest Keeper’s blessing cancelling it out. Surely, that in itself takes up a lot of Aura. We’re willing to take in Ging’s son and teach him how to properly use his abilities, and examine how having two blessings really work. We’d like to keep him safe too.”

"Sorry, but I don’t think Gon is safe in the big city. He’ll be staying here, on Whale Island.”

That was her response to every phone call she received from the Hunter’s Association. Which was why she found it a bit ironic now that she was seeing Gon off and wishing him luck as he boarded the ship heading to the school she despised.

“I’ll come back as the best Hunter in the world! Just wait, Aunt Mito!”

Those were the last words Aunt Mito had heard from Gon for a while.

Mito tried to still her rapidly beating heart. Surely, Gon would be safe? After all, he was going to a place where professional Hunters protected the school. _Yes, he’ll be safe. It’s only his first year – what can go wrong?_

Looking back at those thoughts, Mito couldn’t help but laugh

  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the shorter chapters, sorry! I promise the next one is longer

It didn't take long for Gon to get lost as he entered the large city for the first time. 

He walked down he port and gazed at the tall, skyscrapers and buildings that were completely different than the ones at Whale Island. Lugging his backpack as he observed, Gon felt as if he had entered an entirely new world. 

It took longer than expected to get to the Hunter Association Academy school grounds - he kept on getting distracted by the sights around him. Thankfully, H.A.A was easily one of the largest districts in the entire city and almost everyone knew of it. Within a few hours after departure, Gon found himself having to stretch his head all the way back to fully look at the school.

There were multiple areas - a nestle of four-story structures could be seen from the entrance. Gon assumed those to be the dorm rooms - where he would be staying for the next few years of his life. On the opposite side of campus, all the way to the left, there were a few extravagant gardens that held huge fountains and neatly-trimmed bushes. Right in front of him, there stood what  _had_ to be the main building.

It stood intimidatingly, with so many floors Gon couldn't count them all. It looked rather plain in comparison to everything else he had seen, with simple grey walls and windows. All the way at the top, the steel plates had been replaced with a glass window that took up the entire wall.  _Chairman Netero's Office,_ Gon surmised.

A few wandering students reminding him to stop staring and hurry inside. With a mix of excitement and fear, Gon made his way to his dorm.

* * *

 

Gon loved his dorm room.

Yes, it was  _ his  _ dorm room. Unlike the other first-year students, Gon didn’t have to share with a fellow classmate. He at first was upset that he wouldn’t be having a companion, but soon grew used to the idea. The Hunter’s Association, even after having deemed Gon as “relatively harmless,” was still wary of him and decided having a separate room would be for the best.

It was small but enough for Gon. The room was in the shape of a rectangle with the entrance built into one of the longer sides. From there, a bed rested on the far left corner and a desk on the far right. Two windows decorated the other long side, and a closet covered one shorter side. Other than the trash can and lamp on the table, the room was barren, white, and plain. Even if he were lucky to have a room all to himself, he wasn’t lucky enough to get his own bathroom, which was all the way at the end of his dorm hall.

Next to the door lay a shiny, golden placard with his room number - 204 - engraved onto it in fancy script.

He unpacked his belongings neatly – organized closet, school materials all laid out on his desk – before taking out two potted plants from his bag, tiny green buds just beginning to sprout from the dirt.

Gon had learned that the blessing earned from the Queen Nymph did a great job at keeping the Werewolf blessing at bay – the only thing was during the full moon, Gon needed to ingest some wolfsbane as an extra catalyst.

The Queen Nymph’s blessing also gave Gon the ability to aid the growth of plants – which was what he did, making the early buds grow to a well sized plant in about ten seconds. Purple flowers soon sprung forth and made the white room a bit livelier when put up against the window sills. The next full moon would be in a few days, so Gon made sure to mark up his calendar (it had already been hung up before he had entered the room) with a big, red marker.

Satisfied, Gon finally took out the folder he had been given once signing into the enormous school grounds.

In it lay two copies of his schedule, and multiple sheets of paper. Gon took the one at the top of the stack and began reading.

_ Welcome to Hunter Associations Academy! _

_ The Hunter’s Association is proud for all 104 students that passed the vigorous Entrance Exam. We welcome all with gratuitous hearts! The Chairman is very busy with his schedule, and the staff is very sorry to all students who were expecting an Opening Ceremony. We will do our best to explain H.A.A to the best of our abilities. _

_ If you look over your schedule, you will see that mornings from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM will consist of regular classes (such as History of Mystical Animals, Science of Aura) and after a thirty-minute lunch break, your afternoons from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM will consist of “Team Activities.” _

_ At H.A.A, every student is put into a group consisting of members with different Youkai Blessing types. We do this in order to ensure that all future-hunters properly learn how to work with others and other types of auras. _

_ GON FREECCS, you have been put into GROUP Z along with KILLUA ZOLDYCK, KURAPIKA KURTA, and LEORIO PALADIKNIGHT. Please check the rest of your INTRODUCTORY FOLDER for more information on your teammates. _

_ Breakfast will be served from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM every morning, and dinner will be served from 6:00 to 6:30 every evening. The time in between the end of school hours and dinner is to be spent on studying and doing homework. Lights out is at 11:00 P.M. every night. No exceptions will be made to the schedule. _

_ The Hunter’s Association wishes you the best of luck, _

_ H.A.A. _

Curious to see what kind of people his teammates were – he absolutely  _ loved  _ the idea of being put with three other people – Gon eagerly flipped through the papers, skipping over the school rules and code of conduct, and finally found what he was looking for.

He moved the papers to the bed so that he could comfortably read the rest of the information he had been given.

STUDENT PROFILE:

**Name:** Killua Zoldyck

**Age:** 14

**Sex:** M

**Team:** Z

**Affinity:** Air + Electricity

**Blessing:** _ This has been removed due to the request of Killua Zoldyck, under the Personal Privacy Clause of the Hunter Association’s Code of Conduct. _

**Blood Type:** _ This has been removed due to the request of Killua Zoldyck, under the Personal Privacy Clause of the Hunter Association’s Code of Conduct. _

Gon frowned – there was a lot of information missing. How was he supposed to work together with “Killua Zoldyck” if he didn’t even know what kind of blessing and blood type he had? Really, all he had gotten was his name, age, and affinity.

Looking at the other two members, he could see that they too had taken out their blessing and blood type. Not that Gon’s profile was any better – he only put his blessing as  _ Nymph  _ and his blood type as  _ Unknown.  _ Technically he wasn’t lying but it wasn’t the whole truth either.

There were pictures as well. A small photograph of a boy with soft, white hair, azure eyes and a scowl on his face was attached to Killua’s Student Profile.

He read the next one as well.

STUDENT PROFILE:

**Name:** Kurapika Kurta

**Age:** 19

**Sex:** M

**Team:** Z

**Affinity:** Fire

**Blessing:** _ This has been removed due to the request of Kurapika Kurta, under the Personal Privacy Clause of the Hunter Association’s Code of Conduct. _

**Blood Type:** _ This has been removed due to the request of Kurapika Kurta, under the Personal Privacy Clause of the Hunter Association’s Code of Conduct. _

The picture attached to this one was of a male with long, blonde hair and ash grey eyes. He stared seriously into the camera, wearing odd clothes with tribal patterns inscribed onto them.

STUDENT PROFILE:

**Name:** Leorio Paladiknight

**Age:** 21

**Sex:** M

**Team:** Z

**Affinity:** Water

**Blessing:** _ This has been removed due to the request of Leorio Paladiknight, under the Personal Privacy Clause of the Hunter Association’s Code of Conduct. _

**Blood Type:** Elf

Just how secretive could his teammates get? At least with Leorio, he had gotten a blood type. The picture was of a man who looked much older than 21. Small, round glasses stood perched on his nose, short spiky black hair sticking up with what Gon assumed to be gel. He wore a professional suit and tie while holding a patterned briefcase.

_ Water, Fire, Air, and me, Earth. The four affinities of our team are the four natural elements of the earth. That’s a sign of good luck. _

Hopefully that meant the four would mesh together naturally. If he had to work together with three people who hated him… Gon silently wondered if there could be team member changes. It was dark now, the moon shining into what would be Gon’s home for the next four years. The stars had been snuffed out by the city smog, and all Gon could see was a pitch black landscape. His first day of school would start tomorrow – he vowed to himself that he would make at least 2 friends (not including his teammates).

Most people had already been on campus for quite a while, as students liked to come at least a week before classes started to settle in and talk with their teammates. Gon, unfortunately, could only get here  _ right  _ before the day of school. 

Gon had never been outside of Whale Island – a part of him was excited for all the change, another part of him was wary and worried. What would happen? What was waiting for him?

He settled into his bed and dreamed about the possibilities of the future.

Gon couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone wants my [tumblr](http://www.allu-ria.tumblr.com)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a bit more explanations of how things work in this AU, i hope everything made sense!

Gon never thought breakfast could be so extravagant.

At Whale Island, his mornings consisted of simple bread and butter, or cereal. It was enough to start the day simply – if it were a special morning, he would eat pancakes.

Considering just how rich and fancy H.A.A was, Gon shouldn’t of have been surprised. But he was, and he also couldn’t stop staring at the dwindling line to a breakfast paradise buffet.

There was almost every food Gon could imagine and some he had never seen before – traditional bacon, eggs, ham, waffles, pancakes, toast, fruits, yogurt, some weird pastry type of dish decorated with multiple strawberries.

He could  _ definitely  _ get used to this.

Stacking his plate with an excessive amount of food – he wanted to try everything but realized halfway through that would be impossible even for him – Gon finally departed from the buffet line and sat down at a table.

Gon didn’t see any of his teammates so he sat where there was another young boy just like him – maybe even younger. But, that couldn’t be because the minimum age for entering the school was fourteen. The boy had short, cropped hair and large brown eyes, along with a rather strange white training garb.

“Hi, I’m Gon! What’s your name?” He was eager to make as many friends as possible. The small boy looked up at Gon, a surprised expression on his face before it changed into an amiable one.

“I’m Zushi, Osu! That’s quite a lot of food you have there…” he joked. Gon beamed, eager to continue the conversation. Finally, he would be talking to people of his age! Back at Whale Island, everybody had either been years older or younger.

“Well I’ve never seen so much breakfast food before! I wanted to try it all but only got halfway through the line.”

Zushi nodded vigorously in agreement. “I know, right? I hear the chefs are professional Food Hunters. Menchi and Buhara, I think was their name.”

“No wonder this food tastes so good,” Gon replied, mouth already full of eggs and pancakes.

The two talked with casual conversation, until both of their plates were empty and the bell rung, signaling the end of breakfast time.

“Nice meeting you, Zushi-san! I hope I’ll see you in class soon?”

“Osu! I hope to see you too, Gon!”

__

Gon looked at his schedule. First period was Aura Basics – should be easy enough, right? He triple-checked the room number, 217, before heading in and sitting at a seat in the front row.

The teacher had unruly dark hair, glasses, and an untucked shirt. He currently was writing something at the front of the board with smooth, white chalk.

Welcome to Aura Basics 1

Mr. Wing

To his surprise, Zushi walked in a second later. They exchanged smiles before settling in.

“Welcome to Aura Basics 1, first years! I’m Mr. Wing and this – “Mr. Wing gestured to Zushi, who was now standing in the front of the room, “-is my teacher assistant Zushi. I hope to have a great year with you all. Now, let’s get started.”

“Osu!” Zushi responded, and the rest of the class followed as well.

“Now, I know this sounds like elementary school questions for you but, can someone explain to me what aura is?”

A student in the middle row – he looked more of an adult than a student, though – raised his hand tentatively. He had a bulbous, almost square nose and slicked back brown hair.

“Yes, Tonpa?”

“Aura is what others would call ‘magic.’ It’s the general term used to describe the special abilities blessed people get.”

“Exactly – then, what  _ is  _ a blessing? And what’s the difference between blessing and blood type – I better see you all taking notes right now.”

The class scurried to take out their note taking devices – whether it be an electronic or the classic paper and pencil – before more students raised their hands.

“Aura blessings are when the spirits of Mystical Animals grant humans special abilities, or aura power. Youkai Blood, or blood type, is what gives humans special physical traits – this is more common than blessings, taking up about 95% of the human population. This non-human blood is what gives us the ability to gain blessings at all,” explained one student rather pompously.

“That was great, Nicole. Any examples?”

Nicole – a rather plump boy with a red bow, overalls, and curly hair – smiled before launching into another lengthy explanation. Gon tried to write down every word but gave up halfway through, and began to write in his own messy handwriting that was only decipherable himself.

“How about Kitsune? There are obviously thirteen different elemental types, but generally speaking, people with Kitsune blood can have fox tails, fox ears, longer noses, and claws, but having blood doesn’t mean that human gets the animal’s powers. People with Kitsune blessings get basic elemental control over depending on what type of Kitsune has blessed them, and just like blood, just because a human has a certain blessing doesn’t mean they get any physical traits.”

Mr. Wing nodded before writing on the board again.

“I want you all to remember the distinction between those two – blessing and blood. I know this is really simple, but we must go through the basics of the basic to move on to harder topics. For homework, please bring in two examples of the difference of blessing and blood. Zushi, could you please explain to us what Aura Capacity is, and how it relates to our blessings?”

“Osu!” Zushi cleared his throat before continuing. “Aura Capacity is our stamina for how much Aura we can use. Everyone has about the same amount of it – the stronger the blessing, the higher the cost of aura, the faster Aura Capacity depletes. One can train to make their Aura Capacity stronger, but it takes time and lots of practice to do it.” Zushi bowed, signaling that he was done.

“Thank you, Zushi. Now, to explain further about levels of capacity…”

The class went on and on and all Gon could focus on was trying not to let his brain overheat. After Mr. Wing’s class ended, he went on to the next one and almost fainted at the sight of all the classes he had left until lunch time.

Five periods left.

Five periods left until he got to meet with his teammates and show them his skills.

He could survive, right?

* * *

Gon was almost dead by lunchtime.

He knew H.A.A. was prestigious for a reason, and made to train the best of the best but for Gon,  _ this much knowledge  _ all at once was overwhelming.

This time, he managed to get a little bit of everything onto his plate and wolfed down his food in record time. All that time taking notes and trying to remember all his homework assignments had taken away most of the energy from his huge breakfast.

Gon hadn’t seen any of his teammates around, and couldn’t wait to meet them. What kind of people were they? So far, he had acquainted himself with Zushi (no wonder he looked so young – he was only twelve and training under Wing), Tonpa (who had been held back multiple times), and two others named Pokkle and Ponzu.

His first day, although tiring, was going great.

The rest of the year would be just as amazing and friendly – he could feel it.

* * *

“Alright, welcome to Team Training class for Team Z1. I’m your teacher, Ms. Bisky – you’re the first one here, Gon.”

“Hello, Ms. Bisky!” He exclaimed excitedly as he entered the rather large room.

The practice room – P.R.Z.1 it was called – was shaped as a dome, the floors and walls decorated with stainless steel panels. In the center was what Gon deducted to be a control panel of sorts. A row of buttons, switches, screens and keyboards were all presented on top of a pedestal, with Ms. Bisky sitting on a chair. She had a large, frilly red dress and eyes just as extravagant, glowing velvet under the luminescence of the lights overhead. Her blonde hair was tied tightly into a bun.

Gon didn’t have to wait long for the next member to arrive. Someone about the same height as Gon with the fluffiest white hair he had seen before walked into the room with a slouched expression. He wore designed sneakers, shorts, and a dark purple shirt with a lighter t-shirt over it.

He sprung up and smiled brightly. “I’m Gon! You must be Killua, right?”

Killua nodded in confirmation, smiling right back at Gon before wiping the expression off his face and replacing it with a more nonchalant one. Ms. Bisky introduced herself once more before the rest of Team Z entered.

Leorio was  _ much  _ taller than Gon had first thought, wearing the same exact suit he wore in the picture. As expected, his ears were pointed. Kurapika’s hair was longer than shown in the image and similar yet still tribal garbs. Surprisingly, both Kurapika and Killua didn’t have any indicators to their blood type.

_ I’m so so curious… what kind of abilities do they have? _

“Ok, looks like we’re all here so let’s get started,” Bisky began with a loud clap of her hands. “Whether you like it or not, you for will be stuck with each other for the next few years. And before you ask – no member changes allowed. Even if you hate each other, you can’t let personal problems get in your way in a battle. That’s what this class is going to be about – learning to work together and utilizing your diversity. You there,” Bisky pointed to Kurapika. “What’s affinity?”

“Affinity,” Kurapika began explaining, his voice smooth and confident “is the element that a blessed human works best with. It also dictates our weakness. People with fire affinities have a harder time defending against and using water-based aura, people with water affinities have a harder time defending against earth-based aura and electric-based aura, and so on.”

“Very good. You four have the four basic elements – Fire, water, earth, and air, with an extra electricity – which is quite a good matchup, if you ask me. I  _ have  _ looked into all of your student profiles, and yes, I do know what everyone’s blood and blessings are despite most of that information being confiscated – I am a teacher after all.” Everybody guilty looked to the floor. “But even if I know about you alI, you four don’t know about each other.”

Bisky gave everyone a long look in the eye before continuing. “I understand why some of you want to hide their identities but you’ll only suffer in my class if you don’t tell each other. Soon, you’ll all need to trust each other with this kind of information.”

Gon pouted. He really couldn’t do anything. He had no idea or record of what his blood type was, and part of the agreement to coming to this school was that nobody but the teachers would know of his secret identity.

Then, what did Kurapika, Killua, and Leorio have to keep secret? Was it  _ that  _ important that the rest of the team wasn’t trusted?

Kurapika shook his head before speaking. “I’m sorry, but for the safety of myself and others I must keep everything but my affinity a secret.”

“So do I,” Killua said coldly, staring Bisky down, and Leorio simply nodded nervously.

Bisky shrugged. “Your choice, not mine. At least you have each other’s affinity, right? But i'm warning you - this kind of distrust in you team will only tear you apart later. Even if you say its for 'the safety of yourself and others.'” With a light  _ tsk,  _ Bisky motioned to the giant room around them. “Moving on, this room is a simulator. See the panels on the wall and floor? Whatever kind of environment you want, I can input it to the motherboard over there and the dome will change. I can also generate moving dummies as well to practice. So, let’s get started.”

Leorio looked apprehensive. “Wait, you mean we’re gonna fight  _ now?” _

“Well, we have a few hours to burn. Let’s see how well you work together, and what kind of abilities you have.”

“But we just met,” Kurapika stated. “It’s highly unlikely that this will go well. Even if we have each other’s affinity, there’s also how each of us act and fight in battles, and what our abilities exte-”

“That’s not my problem, is it?” Bisky sweetly interrupted before punching a few buttons. “In the real world, you’ll most likely be put together with people you’ve only just met. You have  _ some  _ information on each other – so let’s see you use that knowledge.”

The room began to vibrate and the panels in the walls and floors flipped, revealing a whole new world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH didn't have time to update yesterday, so sorry!

Instantly, almost like magic, the four found themselves in the middle of a forest. Tall, looming oaks surrounded them and the smell of fresh dirt could be distinctly perceived. The sky was bright and blue, a very-real looking sun beating down harshly onto the greenery. Upon closer inspection, one could see wet droplets decorating the leaves of the area.

“A rainforest,” Kurapika duly noted.

Gon grinned and took a deep breath. He always loved outdoor settings such as this one. Stretching, he made sure his Aura was ready to be used at any time and awaited the next instructions. The control panel and Bisky was nowhere to be seen.

“So,” Leorio spoke into the silence. “What kind of things do you think we’re gonna be fi- “

And that was when a huge, dark mass slammed down, inches away from the oldest member.

He instantly screeched and backpedaled from the strange…  _ thing,  _ which gave off a pungent smell and instantly killed the nearby trees.

The Thing was a simple glob of toxicity, expelling huge plumes of purple gas and a strange black substance that resembled tar, or sap. Gulping, Gon observed it to be around five times the height of Leorio and three Leorios wide.

“What the hell is that?” Killua said, his voice curious rather than scared. The Thing slowly advanced… away from the four?

“No idea but let’s attack it,” Gon responded with a grin, eager to show off. Killua smirked as well, and the two prepared an attack. Killua, with electricity running down his right arm and Gon with a thick, sturdy vine coming out of the ground.

Even with the easy, friendly, atmosphere going around them, tension thickly clung onto the air. Whatever they were fighting… was something none of them knew how to fight. As it always was when challenging the unknown, Gon felt eager and scared at the same time.

“On three… one, two, THREE!” The two fourteen year olds attacked at the same time, laughing while so.

Their attempts at hurting the Thing did nothing, only expel more black tar.

“Aww, lame,” Killua whined. The electricity around him instantly died out, like a battery running out of power.

Leorio and Kurapika seemed to think differently from Gon and Killua’s sudden ‘lets-have-fun’ attitude.

“Let’s  _ not  _ just randomly attack it?” Leorio meekly suggested. “I don’t want that stuff touching me ok?”

Kurapika nodded in agreement. “Nothing about that creature suggests it’s safe to touch. Thankfully I believe we all have ranged attacks so we should be fine…”

“But our combo did nothing,” Gon said. “How are we supposed to defeat it?”

Despite the dire situation, Gon couldn’t help but feel energized. Studying in desks, staying still? It wasn’t his things – he much preferred to do what he was doing now, fighting,  _ being in danger. _

It strangely made him feel alive.

Gon jumped back to observe the creature. Surely, it would have a weak spot? There seemed to be no distinguishing features except…

“It has a mouth,” Gon reported confidently. “We should aim for there.”

Killua looked up, electricity forming in his right hand once again. “Attack it all at once?”

Kurapika nodded. “Attack it all at once. It’s the best option we have.”

It was quite strange. After all, the four had only been acquainted for about… fifteen minutes? Not to mention they barely knew anything about each other besides formalities.

Even so, Gon found himself in sync with everyone and everything around him, their aura’s meshing together perfectly like gears.

_ “So cool,”  _ he muttered to himself as Killua’s whole body lit up. Using a forming tornado, the silver haired boy lifted five feet off the ground and threw his charged arm back as if aiming.

While Killua generating electricity in itself was an anomaly – most elemental blessings required the element before being manipulated – the stranger scenario was with Leorio, who had somehow created a water-cannon of sorts. Next to him was a lake that had  _ definitely  _ not been there before, fueling Leorio’s watery weapon with an explosive propeller.

Kurapika’s abilities were strange as well. Fire burst from his hands yet they were white rather than the red he had been expecting. It gave him a somewhat dangerous beauty, dangerous flames reflecting in his eyes.

The Thing had been slowly moving forward, enveloping and killing trees as the three other than Gon powered up their attacks. He felt a bit intimidated by their great abilities – all Gon had was a few flowers.

Yet that wouldn’t stop him – he refused to be outperformed. Focusing, Gon dropped to the forest floor, calling up energy from the ground.

_ Spirit and Queen Nymph of the Forest _

_ I call upon your blessing _

_ And say; grow. _

The dirt shook beneath them as his aura responded. With a sudden explosion of grass and the poor unfortunate nearby flower patch, thick gnarly vines shot out from the earth along with spikey red plants.

“Now!” he heard Kurapika say, and Gon let the verdure shoot towards the mouth-like in the Thing’s upper region.

At the same time, next to him, white-hot fiery flames shot up and multiple blasts of thick, scalding hot murky water arched perfectly, with almost-purple lightning traveling along the tar-like body and into the mouth.

For a second, nothing. Then the Thing exploded, releasing the toxic material everywhere.

Gon reacted first.

_ Spirit and Queen Nymph of the Forest _

_ I call upon your blessing _

_ And say; Protect _

Tree trunks shot upwards like the half of a dome, blocking out the incoming black tar. Gon winced as the trees began to melt and wither in the areas that were hit.

_ Whatever it was made out of is highly toxic. Could kill us in one shot. _

“Thanks,” said Killua breathily. Despite the early display of raw power – he was easily one of the strongest in the group – he now seemed tired and energy drained.

_ Low stamina? Mr. Wing mentioned something about people with stronger blessings get tired out more easily… _

The panels in the training room flipped to once again reveal cold white tiles. Bisky stood at the center, looking shaken and somewhat disturbed.

“What, did our raw power scare you old lady?” Killua mocked, somehow still condescending despite almost collapsing.

Bisky seemed to snap out of it then, violently punching him in the stomach. “What did you just call me?” Seemingly collecting herself, Bisky cleared her throat and ignored Killua’s flying figure.

“You four cleared that surprisingly fast, despite not knowing each other’s blessing type and that you only met each other an hour ago. I’m impressed yeah yeah but I have a… meeting to attend to. Early class dismissal!”

With that Bisky rushed out of the room.

“Is it just me or did she seem… off?” Leorio noted after a while. Half of his body was wet, blue suit jacket clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

“Well, she  _ did  _ end class with three hours and thirty minutes to spare,” Kurapika said, checking his watch. Surprisingly, Kurapika had no burns on his clothes despite having been enveloped in flames moments before.

Gon decided this was a good time to try and get closer with his teammates.

“I know we know each other’s names but I’m Gon Freeccs! It was nice working with you guys and I hope our future battles together will be just as fun.”

“Killua,” said the silver haired boy. “Hey, Gon, how old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

Killua put up his arm for a high five. “Nice to see there’s someone my age, unlike that old man over there.”

Leorio huffed. “I’m Leorio Paladiknight and for your information,  _ only twenty-one years old. _

“That’s over twenty,” Killua argued. “That’s old.”

“Sorry to interrupt your childish bickering,” Kurapika said, “but I’d like to introduce myself as well. I’m Kurapika, 19 years old, and happy to work with you all as well.”

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving,” Leorio complained as his stomach growled.

“Same,” said Gon, his stomach growling as well. “Is the food court open?”

“No, they only open them during breakfast, lunch, and dinner times,” Kurapika said.

“Let’s go to the city,” suggested Killua.

Gon looked at his teammates and smiled. He had only met these people for an hour – really, he knew nothing about them except for their outward appearances and first impressions.

But Aunt Mito had always called him lucky, and his gut instincts told him these people were trustworthy.

* * *

It was rare for fourteen year olds to enter H.A.A. Most prospecting students were just learning the extent of their powers at the minimum age requirement to apply (which was fourteen) yet that hadn’t stopped Killua or Gon for trying to get in.

Killua claimed that he had no desire to become a hunter, only that going to an elite school seemed like a fun idea. 

“Ehhh so you want to be like your dad?” asked Killua over the chocolate milkshake he had gotten from the city. Leorio and Kurapika were up ahead, having a little conversation of their own.

“Yep! He’s apparently a really famous Hunter! And I want to meet him!”

“What’s he like?”

Gon paused and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Killua seemed to find that funny, his azure eyes crinkling and silver hair shaking. “You want to become like someone, yet you don’t know what this person’s like? That’s weird.”

Gon laughed along. “Well, I never met him. He left me at Wh- an Island at a young age to do Hunter-stuff. What about your family?” Gon hoped Killua didn’t catch his slip-up.

Whether he had noticed it or not, Killua gave no indication. “I… I come from a family of elite assassins.”

“W-wait,  _ assassins?”  _ Gon gasped, and Killua seemed to be uncomfortable.

“Yeah, haven’t you heard of the Zoldycks?”

“No, not at all. But that’s so cool!”

Killua blinked. “Cool?”

“Yeah, assassins! No wonder you’re so strong. Oh am I being insensitive? Sorry!” Gon rubbed the back of his head.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m just surprised. Most people don’t believe when I tell them that.”

“Well, why would you lie?” Gon earnestly asked.

Killua narrowed his eyes, almost suspiciously. “Hey have you met a person with long, black hair and… lifeless eyes before?”

“Not that I know of,” he responded after racking his memory.

He seemed to relax after that. “Ok. If you do see that kind of person…” Killua’s expression shifted into a darker one. “Run away and tell me.”

“Ok, Killua.”

* * *

Bisky burst into the room without knocking, waking up Chairman Netero from a (not so) secret nap.

She had entered the chairman’s office, which was on the highest floor of the main building, one wall completely made out of glass to overlook the school ground below. The other tree walls were a simple steel grey, with a large mural of the Chinese character for  _ heart  _ hung up. A few plants decorated the bare corners with a simple mahogany table resting in the center of the room.

“Sorry to intrude, Mr. Netero, but we need to talk.”

Netero chuckled. “No need to keep the formalities here, Bisky. What’s the problem?”

“Just see this video first,” Bisky monotonously responded while handing over a small CD. “A recording of the simulation battle of Team Z.”

“Team Z? Ohoho, the newbies, correct?”

“Yes,” Bisky’s voice sounded strained. “But there was something wrong.”

Netero stopped joking and brought up a laptop. “Well let’s see what’s gotten you in such a fuss, shall we?”

The video clip started normally, with the view of the rainforest area.

“I entered the code for basic small fry of the four main element affinities,” Bisky began to explain. But what came out was –

Netero’s demeanor instantly changed as the Thing came into view.

“I tried to cancel the simulation, but none of the controls worked. Not even the intercom.” She paused to catch her breath. “Do you have any idea on what that was?”

Netero looked outside to the whole area that belonged to H.A.A. A group of four seemed to be coming back from the city.  _ Team Z. _

“I’ll make a few calls of my own. Don’t worry about anything, Bisky. I’m sure Morel and Knov will have it under control once I call them. Don’t tell the rest of the staff. Maybe I’ll let a few others know but,” Netero licked his lips. “this could easily cause terror amongst the students.”

“So what is it?” Bisky asked apprehensively.

Netero hesitated to answer, as if he were choosing his words carefully. “I’m not positive, but if I’m right, the entire Hunter’s Association is in danger.”

* * *

Before he knew it, months had passed. Gon fell into a routine – wake up early, stuff himself at breakfast, go to morning classes and try to stay awake, stuff himself at lunch as well with Zushi and Killua and sometimes Leorio and Kurapika, then train his talents with the rest of his teammates. He found himself slowly, but surely, getting a good idea on what kind of fighters his teammates were.

Leorio – the oldest yet probably not the most mature. He specialized in healing magic, choosing to help from the sidelines rather than engaging in combat (though he didn’t hesitate jumping into the battle if needed). Somehow, he always managed to – find? Somehow create? Either way, Leorio always managed to get a water source from  _ somewhere.  _ Whenever Gon had asked about where his seemingly unlimited source came from, he would give an excuse and run away.

Kurapika, calm and collected. He was definitely the most mature and smartest out of the four, yet also the most secretive. His whole being seemed like a mystery. Gon could never figure out the real color of his eyes. Blue? Grey? Sometimes, he swore he saw red in the rare chance of catching his eyes through the white hot flames that engulfed him and left him unscarred in each practice battle. He enjoyed thoroughly examining each of them in a fight and commenting their mistakes.

Lastly, Killua. Gon had grown the closest to Killua out of the three. His personality resembled his aura – dangerous, exciting, and deadly. He seemed to favor speed and flashiness, quick powerful attacks being his forte. Gon could easily guess that his blessing type was rare and powerful – while being the strongest of the four, Killua was also the one with the least amount of stamina, only managing a few powerful attacks before having to use simpler, weaker, moves. Most of the time, he joked around with Gon yet sometimes, like when he brought up family, Killua would fall into prolonged periods of silence. Gon hated that – it was a bit unnerving. So he did his best to avoid topics that made him uncomfortable, even if his own curiosity burned every time.

Needless to say despite their first attempt at working together being a success, it was still difficult to do anything without knowing everyone’s blessing type. Gon could hear every time Bisky gave a small  _ tsk  _ or shook her head whenever they failed to complete simple tasks.

Life at H.A.A. soon fell into a steady rhythm. Zushi worked as hard as ever to assist Mr. Wing in the morning and helped Gon stay awake during his classes, then Gon would eat lunch with Killua and then all of Team Z would gather to try their best to work as a team.

“Do you remember the first simulation battle we had?” Killua asked one day. They were in Gon’s room, a few hours after dinner, working on homework due the next day.

“Mm,” Gon responded, absentmindedly looking over the vocabulary homework.

“Don’t you think that was weird? I mean, we were just newbies. So why would they send a monster like that?”

“Maybe they thought we were up to it,” Gon halfheartedly tried to counter. He had thought about it too – the way Bisky had run out, the abnormality of the Thing.

“Maybe,” Killua reluctantly agreed, “but I can’t help but wonder, yanno? I wonder if they’re hiding things.”

Gon wondered too.   
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapter updates in one day, enjoy! A lot of these chapters are short (I know, sorry!) but the next one is really long... probably should of divided it better oops

“Hey have you seen Zushi?” Asked Killua one morning a few months into the school year. Now at breakfast times, Zushi, Killua, and Gon would eat together. Yet recently, Zushi had gone missing.

Gon shrugged while shoveling pancakes into his mouth. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s sick?”

“I have a feeling that’s not it…” Killua muttered. “Don’t you have Mr. Wing first period?”

“Yeah, I’ll ask him about it then. I hope he’s ok…”

“Me too.”

* * *

 

“Excuse me, Mr. Wing, Is Zushi ok? I haven’t seen him around in a while…”

Gon had approached Mr. Wing right before class started, wanting to know if his friend was ok. Mr. Wing smiled yet it seemed forced.

“Zushi won’t be around for a while – there was a family emergency and he had to rush home. I hope you understand.”

“Oh, ok! I do, thank you Mr. Wing!” Gon exclaimed even if he distinctly remembered Zushi mentioning he had been adopted by Mr. Wing at a young age. Was there something wrong with Wing’s side of the family? Then why had only Zushi disappeared and not Wing? And Gon was certain that Zushi would tell him if he would be leaving.

_ I wonder if they’re hiding things  _ – Killua’s words echoed around his head.

If there was one thing Gon loved, it was taking a challenge and solving mysteries.

His teammates secrets, the disappearance of Zushi, the  _ Thing.  _ What did it all mean?

Gon was willing to give it his all to find out.

* * *

The four had been practicing fighting fire-based dummies when the accident happened.

After the incident of the Thing, all the practice monsters they had fought were much less strange and easier. Which was probably the reason why Gon had gotten ahead of himself. The small fiery creatures had merged into one, giant one and Gon got too excited and forgot trees could burn.

It was such a stupid mistake that he and Killua would still be laughing over it years later. Even so, in the heat of the moment, Gon was half-thrilled half-terrified. With a confident backflip, Gon landed gracefully on all fours and willed the earth to grow simple oak trees to try and stab the flame dummies. The greenery surrounded him in thick clumps, and for a second Gon swore he saw the fiery puppets struggle…

…then fire grew all around him, catching onto the sturdy branches and freshly grown leaves, rapidly climbing all around him. Gon panicked and desperately looked for a way to escape, but only found tendrils of red flames.

Really, Gon wasn’t thinking. Forgetting that Leorio would probably soon generate enough water to escape, or that Bisky was surely watching and making sure nothing would get out of hand, Gon abruptly forced a thick branch to climb up and carry Gon above the walls of fire.

Unfortunately, Leorio had the misfortune of deciding that moment was a good time to send that water to quench the fire. Gon immediately slammed into the thick wall of water, knocking him off his tree branch and falling right into the flames.

His legs got the worst of it – a bubbling, itchy,  _ painful  _ feeling shot up his whole body, and Gon let out a hoarse scream before he felt his throat close up and water splashed all around him to alleviate the pain a little bit.

“Holy – Gon, are you – somebody call the –” spluttered Killua in the distance. He heard a loud crackle of electricity, presumably killing the dummies in one shot and reducing them to mere ash.

He opened his eyes and instantly shut them again, blanching at the sight of ruined, charred skin. He felt arms around him and the smooths skin felt raw and rather uncomfortable, but he let himself be carried away anyways. Slightly cracking open his eyes once more, he was met with the sight of a very concerned Bisky who murmured something strange under her breath. Immediately, Gon felt his consciences slip and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

He awoke in a spotless, clean, hospital room. His whole body ached and throbbed, and Gon had to shut his eyes to calm down the oncoming migraine against the harsh, luminescent lights that hung overhead.

_ One breath in… one breath out.  _ Gon finally gathered enough energy to properly examine his surroundings. The bed he rested on lay on the far corner of the room, the door leading outside on the opposite wall. A small monitor with multiple wires and plugs stood right next to him, along with a counter with what one would expect from a doctor’s office – bottles of over the counter medicine, Band-Aids, cotton swabs, etc.

Gingerly taking a step out, Gon noticed the bandages that were wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso underneath hospital clothes. Surprisingly, other than feeling a bit tingly, the skin underneath felt fine and  _ almost  _ normal. Deeming it safe to venture outside, Gon carefully (and a bit painfully) walked to the door and opened it, only to be immediately met with shocking red hair and gleaming eyes.

Gon almost shut the door in the stranger’s face when the other man began to speak.

“Oh, you’re finally awake~? I was wondering how long it would take…”

He squinted, observing the man before him. He wasn’t really sure where to focus on – the strange tattoos on his cheeks? The clown outfit? The outrageous hair? The strong sense of danger that could be strongly perceived?

“How long was I out, Mr. Uh…” Gon finally said, glaring a bit suspiciously. His heart began to beat faster as the stranger grinned.”

“It’s Hisoka. Well, Hisoka- _ senpai  _ to you, Gon Freeccs.”

Gon jumped. “How do you know my-“

“I have my ways, small one~. How could I give up this opportunity to finally meet the one with  _ two  _ blessings?”

Instinctively, Gon covered his upper arms, which held the two symbols for his blessings. “What do you want from me?”

“Nothing, I’m just watching,” Hisoka said rather cheerily while examining his fingernails. “You’re better than I expected to be. When you’re fully ripe…”

Gon shivered at the sudden shift in Hisoka’s voice. Every instinct in him screamed to  _ get away from him,  _ but for some reason he stayed frozen and rooted to the spot, like a deer in headlights.

"Well, it'd be a shame for you to die over a silly mistake now. Just as expected, you seem to be quite alright~ prepare yourself, alright? There’s something even bigger than the Thing you fought – and it’ll be here soon. Maybe ask your friend Zushi about it? And tell your Zoldyck buddy he better  _ watch his back.  _ Sweet dreams~ _ ” _

Smiling as if he had made an inside joke, Hisoka disappeared in a flurry of fire. Instinctively, Gon scrambled back –  _ too soon,  _ Gon thought to himself warily as the only evidence left on the spotless walls was a single, golden feather.

He pocketed it and walked down the corridor until he saw an exit. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting, and all of a sudden he felt his whole body being squished.

“GON! YOU’RE OK!” Leorio sniveled while wildly swinging Gon like a sack of potatoes.

“Calm down gramps, they’re just some burns,” Killua stated from the corner of the room, but Gon would tell from his tense posture that he had been worried too. “The nurses here healed them with magic too.”

“Leorio, put him down,” scolded Kurapika sternly. “You’re going to choke him to death.”

Grinning, the half-elf put him down. “Sorry, got worried. Don’t do crazy shit like that, ok?”

“Ok,” Gon responded a bit dumbly. A warm feeling entered his chest – he desperately clung onto it, and for the first time Gon understood what having real friends meant.

…which reminded him of Zushi – there was  _ definitely  _ something fishy in that situation. And Hisoka had been just plain creepy, but he knew _ something  _ and the feather he had gotten could be a lead for what kind of Youkai Blood he had. Then next time Gon met him, he would be prepared to defend himself. He shivered at the reminder of the bloodlust rising from the clown.

“Did you guys see a really weird looking clown dude with red hair and face paint?” Gon asked a bit hopefully – teleportation was a rare trait. It was possible he had used the flames as an illusion to escape.

“Nah,” Killua said while stretching his arms behind his back. “Why?”

“There was this guy who was waiting outside my door named Hisoka…,” Gon paused, wondering if he should share the information.  _ They’re my teammates,  _ he reasoned.  _ I trust them.  _ “He said there would be something even bigger than the Thing we fought, and that we should be prepared. Also that Zushi knew what was up – but he’s been absent lately and I can’t help but think its related, you know?” The three were silent. “Oh, and he said that Killua should  _ Watch his back  _ or something. What do you think he means?”

He glanced over to Killua for an answer but the silver haired boy looked as he had been electrocuted. His whole body was immediately tenses, expression closed off and eyes murderous. “Did he say anything else?”

Gon gulped. “No, but he left this behind.” He took out the feather and surprisingly, Kurapika snatched it from his hand.

“…I think I may know this Hisoka,” he said tightly. “I… all I know is that he’s no joke. And his blood type is rare.”

Gon pouted. “Well, I’ll ask Mr. Wing for details again. He’s definitely hiding something…” Killua jumped and made his way to the door.

“I’ll go with you,” he declared.

Kurapika put the feather to the overhead lights – the golden sheen glowed. “Leorio and I will try to figure out who this Hisoka person is and what he’s like.”

“Should we tell Netero about the bigger threat?” Gon asked.

“We don’t need to tell them everything – just say, we heard it from the city. But don’t mention that we’re investigated this, alright?” Leorio said. The four nodded and then broke off into pairs.

_ I feel like I’m in some sort of secret spy agency,  _ Gon thought to himself giddily.

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonderful artwork was done by [@gonprohunter](http://gonprohunter.tumblr.com) on tumblr! GO CHECK IT OUT IT'S AMAZING!! I would embed it into the fic but I don't know how lol

A few weeks later, Gon was no longer happily smiling at the prospect of investigating the mystery.

“I’ll be handing back your tests now,” Mr. Wing announced. Gon didn’t miss the dark bags under his teacher’s eyes and the disheveled state of his clothes and hair. Well, he was _always_ a bit messy but not in the way Mr. Wing was now. Gon supposed he didn’t look any better. When his paper came back to him, he winced at the grade. He had done quite well while studying at home but now at an official school for the first time, even half a year later, Gon was still struggling.

_A 47. Better than last time…_

Then all the windows imploded.

The life changing moment happened so suddenly, so _abruptly,_ that Gon really had no time to think as glass scratched at his skin and a large, malformed creature similar to the Thing from before came oozing through.

Students around him screamed and scrambled when the creature let out a strangled shriek, yet Gon found himself frozen when he heard the sound.

_That sounds… like Zushi._

_“H…Help me,”_ it rasped. _“Food… give me food…”_

He felt a hand on his shoulder – it was Mr. Wing. “Gon, I’ll handle this. You evacuate with the rest of the students.”

Gon shrugged him off. “T-that’s Zushi, right?” Mr. Wing froze and Gon knew he had hit bullseye. He hadn’t been slacking off in class for the past few weeks for nothing – no, he had spent most of his time exploring all around with Killua while Kurapika and Leorio handled the research.

“What happened to him?” Gon probed once more when Mr. Wing didn’t respond. The malformed-Zushi(?) was considerably smaller and more detailed than the one Gon had encountered in the practice rooms. It was a bit taller than Gon with what he assumed to be arms and a similar mouth-like cavity. Grotesque, spider legs spindled out of his body in the oddest of places, followed by a long dragon like tail. It was the most bizarre purple-goop thing he had ever encountered.

He yelped when one of the spider legs _extended_ with needle-like sharpness towards Gon. On instinct, Poison Ivy shot up and cracked the linoleum floors, effectively stopping the body part. Wing suddenly came forward and with a simply slice of his hand, wind snapped and cut off the spindly leg easily.

Gon stared. He didn’t know what to process first – the fact that Mr. Wing’s arm was covered in thick, purple _scales_ or that the Thing had screamed out in a very Zushi-like voice.

The thing paused for a second more before the figure began to vibrate, and with a sickening _plop_ two new spider legs, covered in even more purple goop, came from inside the putty like body.

Screaming, Gon backpedaled. _What the hell just happened?_ He realized fighting this would be much harder than the enemy from before. First of all, Gon knew who this… person? Thing? Was. Second of all, whatever’s Zushi’s blood type and blessing had been had obviously passed on. Come to think of it, he had never really asked Zushi about it.

_There’s something even bigger than the Thing you fought – and it’ll be here soon._ Had Hisoka known that… this would happen? Had Hisoka _done this to Zushi?_

A new feeling squirmed and squeezed his heart. It only took a second to recognize it as _rage._

_Whoever did this to you, Zushi,_ he silently vowed to himself. _I’ll kill them._

“Gon – leave, now.” Mr. Wing ordered. The scales were up to his neck now, and black horns could be seen on top of his head. “Get Netero, got it? I’ll take care of th-“

Malformed-Zushi pounced right at Gon.

This time he really couldn’t react fast enough. He closed his eyes and winced, mentally preparing himself for the worst.

…Nothing. Daring to peek, Gon opened his eyes to see the back of a familiar figure.

_It’s like Déjà Vu…_

Kite simply glanced back at Gon while a box of light quickly formed around the squirming figure. “Must I always save you from the brink of death?” he joked despite the screaming form behind him. The blue hat he had worn when they had first met was gone, replaced by a set of fox ears.

_Light Kitsune Blood?_

“Sorry,” Gon sheepishly apologized.

“Kite-san, nice to see you again,” Mr. Wing stated formally.

“No need to be proper in an emergency situation, Wing,” he responded. “Gon, I need you to leave now. Make sure all the other students are evacuated and get Netero, ok?”

Gon nodded and was about to leave when Bisky burst through the door. Her usual fluffy dress was gone… no, it had transformed into a bizarre set of pink feathers. A set of jewels floated around her outstretched hand as some sort of weapon.

_What the hell’s going on?_

“Please don’t tell me – ah, fuck here too. Wing, Kite, hurry – there’s still more to capture.”

Wing frowned. “What do you mean more to capture?” The light box around Zushi flickered.

Bisky paused to catch her breath. “You didn’t realize? The whole school is under attack right now.”

* * *

_Killua, Kurapika, Leorio. They’re in danger too. I need to make sure they’re ok!_

Gon ran through the hallways, desperately searching in each classroom. Students from all around him were either screaming or fighting. In a normal situation, Gon would stop to stare at all the cool auras around him.

But this was no ordinary situation – it was an emergency. _What happened to Zushi? Can other people become like that? …Can my friends become like that?_

The receding anger within him suddenly came back at full force, fueling his magic. Unconsciously, Lobelia flowers were trailing behind him with each step, bright red petals glowing with rage.

When Gon found them together in a classroom, he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or shocked.

Too much was happening for him to process everything at once. Chairs were everywhere, the windows were broken here as well, and everything seemed to be in hell.

He found himself focusing on Leorio, who happened to be facing another small snake Thing with – _holy shit was that black magic?_ The elf _glowed_ with strange blue runes, trying to bind the Thing down. Blocks of water glowed green around him, moving smoothly with the flick of his hand. Black magic was almost just as bad as werewolf blessings - a dark magic used for destroying and wreaking havoc. How could someone as kind and helpful as Leorio have a blessing like… that?

_Don’t judge him,_ he silently scolded himself. _You’re worse._

Kurapika’s eyes were a fierce bright scarlet, contrasting greatly against the white-hot flames that danced around him and gave the illusion of large, fiery angel wings. No - a _phoenix._ A dragon-shaped creature was approaching Kurapika and the blonde lashed out with rage.

Killua wasn’t facing a Thing, but the person eerily resembled one. He had long black hair and dead eyes, and was staring down at Killua’s shivering body. His usual purple shirt was completely torn, revealing his back.

_Tell your Zoldyck buddy he better watch his back._

He understood what Hisoka meant now.

The assassin’s skin was decorated with swirls of ink – Gon would assume it to be a tattoo but he knew the Mark of a Blessing well. The lines were jagged like bolts of lightning, glowing silver in a circular pattern. A figure of a bird was in the center, elegantly outstretching his wings. 

 Even Gon knew of the Thunderbird.

It was one of the most powerful kinds of blessings – rumors said that the people who received them had to had experience extreme levels of pain. It gave the blessed amazing reflexes and perfect manipulation of electricity.

_This explains a lot…_ Gon looked around and realized all his teammates secrets were out for the world to see.

A twinge of jealousy squeezed his heart. _I wish I could show them. I wish I could tell them about_ my _blessings…_

But he didn’t have any time for petty emotions – he had to help his friends. He stepped forward and rather loudly shouted, “Hey!”

Killua jumped, and the stranger across from him tilted his head.

“Is he your teammate as well? Your ‘friend?’” he asked monotonously, and Killua paled even further. “Makes sense, I guess. Monsters can only be friends with monsters after all.”

Gon felt the wind leave his lungs. This person – he knew? It felt like he was being slapped to the face.

_Monster._

Killua’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Don’t. you. _Dare._ Call Gon a monster, Illumi-nii. He’s perfectly… safe.”

He had hesitated. Gon looked away, ashamed.

_I swear I’m safe. I swear – please believe me._

“I wouldn’t call a werewolf safe, Kil.”

The room temperature dropped about fifty degrees. This had to be worse than Leorio’s black magic, Kurapika’s rage, or Killua’s overpowered blessing.

He froze. So did everyone else. The Things had either been burned away (thanks Kurapika) or locked into a large rune-decorated water cube (thanks Leorio).

“I-It doesn’t matter what kind of blessing or blood he has,” Killua murmured bravely, but Gon could see him shiver.

Illumi stared. “Kil, are you afraid? Of your very teammate, who you’ve been working together with for the past months? Is it that easy to lose your faith in someone?” he clucked his tongue in disapproval. “This is what I told you, Kil. You’re not fit for friends. You’re even worse than that monster – you’re a _demon.”_

There were too many things being revealed at once for Gon to process it all. Ok, school was under attack, all of his teammates knew his secret identity, Leorio could use _black magic,_ and everyone – especially Killua – was being unraveled by Illumi, Killua’s older brother.

Oh, and Killua had been hiding an extremely powerful power.

Gon felt more anger rise from him until Wormwood wrapped itself around his arms and legs. “Take that back,” he said brashly. “Killua isn’t a demon or a monster. He’s _human.”_

Illumi looked shocked. “You don’t know? All Zoldycks have akuma blood in them. We are creatures of the dark. Kil is in no shape to involve himself in this mess, or this school in general. I’ve made a mistake in allowing him to enroll.”

“Bullshit,” Leorio said. “Non-human blood only makes up about 2 percent of a human body.”

“Killua is seven percent akuma-blood. More than three times a normal human. He is a demon, and does not belong here, which is why I must take him back.”

Kurapika bristled. “One’s blood does not determine a person’s humanity. Killua is our teammate and you’re not taking him away.”

Killua stayed silent.

“Kil, come – they’re disgusted with you. You’re inhuman – you got your blessing at the earliest age possible, seven. Nobody normal gets it that early, especially a thunderbird one. I didn’t train you for your talent to be wasted on things like this.”

Gon almost couldn’t believe it. The words coming out of the black-haired man were completely outrageous and unbelievable. Yet Killua seemed frozen in fear, eyeing Illumi with wide eyes. Electricity sparkled around his back, singeing off more clothes.

It was then he realized the shadows in the room – they seemed much too long, too dark. _All Zoldycks have akuma blood in them._ Black, small horns sprouted from Illumi’s head, and a spiked club appeared into his hand.

_An Oni with hypnotic powers and a Kanabo. Fucking great._

Killua, like an animal sensing danger, scrambled when Illumi raised the weapon.

Then in a flash, Illumi was upon Gon.

He felt it before he saw it – the oppressive feeling of submission that surely had been on Killua seconds ago. Darkness choked his lungs and the club came down faster than the blink of an eye –

Only to be stopped right above his head with an electrified hand.

Killua’s eyes were almost inhuman, red dancing in the azure. His whole body was covered in blue electricity, usually fluffy white hair slicked upwards with currents. A tail could be seen from behind, black and jaggedly curled at the end.

_A demon._

No, not a demon – it was Killua, it was _human,_ and he had just sacrificed a finger for Gon.

Blood dropped onto Gon’s forehead, and he silently observed that it was much thicker and darker than normal blood.

_Seven percent is a crazy amount._

Illumi looked shocked, then his expression settled back into the normal monotone. “I see… you’d protect him over me? You’d really fight me?”

He took a step forward. Killua took one back. His feet were heading in the direction of the windows, signaling his desire for escape.

“Ah, I see. Running away now? Leaving your friends to deal with me? That’s some really great _teamwork…”_

A wall of white-hot fire blasted in between Illumi and Killua. “GO!” Kurapika screamed. Killua instantly ran, and disappeared within seconds. The last thing Gon saw was his tail.

“Tch. You three are as stubborn as my brother,” Illumi sighed. “Well, I’ll leave you be, Phoenix. Carry on – it won’t take long for me to find Kil.”

The room was suddenly too quiet. Gon wiped away at his forehead, smearing his arms with blood and pushing up his sleeve, finally revealing his blessing mark – the werewolf one – for Kurapika and Leorio to see.

In a matter of a few hours, most of their secrets had come out.

Gon felt the fatigue and shock overtake him – it really was too much to handle. His knees buckled and Gon felt his body hit the cold ground before passing out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](http://allu-ria.tumblr.com)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH Sorry for the late update everyone! Here's a kinda long chapter to make up for it

Gon heard voices before he saw the people talking.

“…worse than I expected,” a familiar old voice was saying. For a few seconds, Gon kept his eyes closed in confusion as the events from before came flooding back.

Ok – Kurapika, a phoenix. He had read that they had gone extinct but apparently not. Leorio, black magic, something completely opposite from his kind and non-combative tendencies. Killua had a maniac older brother… Killua… where had he gone?

With a sudden gasp Gon shot up, and Netero chuckled. “It’s about time you woke up. How are you feeling?”

He narrowed his eyes – currently he was lying on a sofa of what appeared to be Mr. Netero’s office. Kurapika, Leorio, Bisky, Wing, and Kite were there as well, looking tired out but nevertheless alive and not goop-ifed, thankfully.

Wing’s scales had disappeared, but instead strange blue runes similar to the ones Leorio used before were all over his arms. Bisky still had feathers attached to her. Kurapika and Leorio looked as they always did, as if they were normal and not some weird exotic animal-mix.

“Where’s Killua?” Gon asked, his voice coming out much clearer than expected. Everyone stayed silent and Netero laughed despite the tense silence.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine and –“ he put up a hand before Gon could interject “if you’re willing to help, we’ll most likely meet up with him again.”

Gon shut his mouth, waiting for Netero’s explanation.

“I’m not happy about bringing children but –“ Wing was interrupted by Kite.

“They deserve to know the truth, at least. It’ll be up to them to decide whether to join or not.”

Netero glared around the room to make sure there were no more interruptions before clearing his throat. “All the students were evacuated safely before any harm could be done. We have people investigating the captured Things, and I’m afraid my thesis has been proven correct.” He paused, stroking his curled beard in deep thought. “They’ve all received Chimera Blessings. This isn’t known to the public but Chimera Blessings give the blessed the ability to take multiple different Youkai Bloods.”

Gon frowned. He had been taught that Chimera Blessings did nothing particular – but the ability to use other people’s blood type? That was  _ crazy. _

“Of course, you have to be born with the blessing in order for any kind of transfer to work. Not to mention some people’s bodies can’t handle having a blood type that’s not their original, and transform into mutinous, poisonous, bodies of mass.”

His stomach dropped – that explained Zushi’s spider legs.

“We’re working on a way to try to convert them back but… it might be best not to let our hopes up. A group calling themselves the Chimera Ants have been working in the shadows for a while, recruiting people who wish to be stronger to be test subjects. The ones who managed to survive the transformation are power hungry and bloodthirsty. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill and try to take your blessings – especially powerful ones like the members of Team Z. Yet we need to overpower them with strength. If you three are willing to help-“

“I am.” Surprisingly, it was Leorio who spoke up first. “I-I know black magic is dangerous but I’ll do my best to support everyone.”

Kurapika and Gon nodded vigorously in agreement – they were in this together.

Plus, Gon had to avenge… whoever did that to Zushi. Zushi was powerful, and definitely wouldn’t of have willingly tried to get more power. No, Zushi was  _ nothing  _ like that. The Chimera Ants surely tricked him and then turned him into… into a  _ monster. _

He would never forgive whoever did that to him.

“Alright, so here’s the game plan,” Bisky stated briskly, feathers ruffling. “Netero will take on their leader. He has three guards – take them out and the whole organization will crumble. We’ll split up evenly to battle. Kite will be with Gon, taking on the Guard named Neferpitou. Kurapika, Leorio, work on defeating the one with red skin – Youpi was his name. Wing and I will be fighting the one named Shaiapouf while making sure no Things get in our way. Is that clear?”

Everyone in the room responded with a chorus of  _ yes. _

“They’re base is quite far from here – in a different country actually. We’ll have to move as fast as possible,” said Wing while putting on a jacket.

“So exactly when are we invading their territory?” Leorio nervously mumbled.

Netero stared back, a serious expression on his face. “Now – before they can harm any other innocents, we need to strike back.”

* * *

There was a dagger of distrust between them.

Leorio admitted that his blessing was from a Warlock, giving him the ability to use dark magic. Dark magic was dangerous, and usually used to hurt or even kill.

“But trust me guys – I only ever use magic to defend myself or create water. Most of the time I’ll use water to heal…”

Kurapika shared no more than “I am the last one with phoenix blood left. A group calling themselves the Phantom Troupe – a group of murderers with dragon-blood – wiped out my home village for their beautiful scarlet feathers long ago.”

Werewolves – Gon did his best to explain what had happened, and how, well, he was  _ fine  _ and definitely safe enough to trust.

Yet it was hard – it broke Gon’s heard, but it was hard to look at his teammates in the same way. They had been together for months now, and they hadn’t trusted him with information. In the same way, he had secrets but it wasn’t like he had a  _ choice,  _ now did he? He felt a bit guilty after thinking like that.

But there was no time to think about how to mend their broken relationship. Zushi was no longer Zushi, Killua was simply missing (although everyone seemed to believe Killua would end up trying to tackle the Chimera Ants himself and would meet them there), and Gon was suddenly flung into a very dangerous trip to try and stop people from being murdered in another country.

_ I hope Mito isn’t too worried… _

Mito, back on Whale Island, was very worried. It had only been seven months since Gon had left. Seven months, and he was already involved in some sort of conspiracy.  _ Of course,  _ she silently fumed to herself.  _ Of course this happens – he  _ is  _ Ging’s son. _

Arrangements were made and soon, Gon found himself flying over to a new country. He wondered if this Chimera Ant – Neferpitou – had been the one who corrupted Zushi.

And if they weren’t, Gon wouldn’t let himself rest until he found the thing responsible and killed it.

* * *

The plan was very simple.

They would split up accordingly, and Netero would stay behind while the three groups separated the Guards from their leader and fought them individually. Then Netero would take care of their King.

Gon examined everyone with amusement – they looked like quite the odd bunch. Gon himself wore a simple white undershirt with green shorts, both of his blessing marks clearly visible. Leorio wore the standard suit and tie, but all of his clothes were lightly covered in etchings of runes. Kurapika decided to go with his traditional garbs – apparently they were fireproof. Bisky, he had learned, had Griffin blood. Her nails were sharp and pink feathers cascaded down her back like a wing-cape. She wore a matching pink jumpsuit. Wing wore what he always wore, a loosely tucked button up and plain pants. His right arm was rolled up and Gon knew that in battle, it would be covered in purple wyvern scales in battle. Kite’s fox ears and tail matched him rather well, complimenting his neutral expression and fur-white shirt with blue pants.

Netero wore a simple shirt with the Chinese character for  _ heart  _ written onto it. Gon had no idea what his blessing or blood type could be but he trusted the chairman of the Hunter’s Association to do his job.

They waited in the shadows for days, and Gon secretly wished Killua were there.

His wish surprisingly came true.

It was the day their plan would go into action. Kite had spotted Killua’s fluffy white hair and the tip of his tail and successfully managed to drag him into their group.

“He can come with me and Gon. We’d need the extra help,” Kite offered as Killua struggled to get away.

“Killua please,” Gon begged. Killua stilled, muscles tense with fear. “We’re not mad at you. None of us think you’re a demon like your brother said. I mean, just look at me! And Leorio! And Kurapika!”

Kurapika gave a curt nod. “Your brother has quite the foul personality – you shouldn’t believe a word he says.”

“You can trust us now, Killua,” Leorio said.

None of them mentioned the awkward tension that had been between those three for the past few days. Thankfully, Killua seemed to accept the situation and settled next to Gon. His finger was crudely treated with bandages and Gon’s heart dropped a bit. 

He had covered up his blessing mark on his back with a light sweater (the shirt underneath still had a giant gaping hole.) He seemed a bit reluctant, yet still willing, to not hide his tail or horns. The tips of his fingers were blackened and strings of electric traveled up his arms in random intervals. Once again, there was no time to celebrate the reunion – no, they all had to focus.

Apparently, they had done tons of research beforehand – the attack on H.A.A had been the catalyst to confirm all of Netero’s beliefs and snap him into action. So, Gon had been told many many times that these things would most likely be ruthless and unhesitant to kill, or use them for more experiments.

Gon found his heart beating wildly moments before their planned attack. Not with fear but with anticipation.

The Chimera Ants base was an abandoned palace, with long, white columns and golden arches. What Gon assumed to be a garden was filled with people in cocoons and cages rather than beautiful flowers. It made his stomach sick – but he had to wait and go with the plan. Then, he would kill the people – no  _ monsters –  _ that were responsible for this. For changing all these innocent people. For changing  _ Zushi. _

_ “Remember the plan,”  _ whispered Wing before they all stormed in.

* * *

“Nya, I think they’re here, Meruem. Should we attack?”

The Chimera Ants and their King, Meruem, were at the center of the palace, strategically placed so that anyone could come in easily. Their king seemed distracted by the normal human girl in front of her.

“No, don’t do anything yet.”

“Don’t you think we were being stupid by letting them gain information about us?” Neferpitou asked, yet again. It was an old habit of hers – asking questions, even if they were rhetorical. No matter how many new bloods she obtained, her natural Sphinx nature seemed to be used the most.

“There’s a reason why I’m let them learn about us so easily, you know that,” Meruem calmly stated.

“And what’s that reason, my lord?” Neferpitou  _ did  _ know it, but she loved hearing their Grand Plan out loud. It filled her with a sense of  _ justice. _

Meruem sighed knowingly, before moving a piece on his stupid board game. “It’s so that we can show them just how powerful we are, even if they already know about us. It’s so that we can show them who’s  _ really  _ in control – and that we could enlighten so many people. People like Komugi, who’s been pushed to the side all her life because of her weak blessing and blood.”

The person in question – Komugi – was a completely normal human with no blessing and an unknown blood type that seemingly made her weaker rather than stronger. While they had waited for the Hunter Association to arrive, Meruem had gotten bored so Shaiapouf brought in the nation’s best “gungi” player, whatever that meant.

She was supposed to be a simple distraction until their grand plan went into action. She was supposed to be disposable. Meruem was not supposed to get attached to her, especially someone as… weak as she was.

(that was one thing Neferpitou understood – weakness. She had it her whole life, being on the streets while the stronger ones got to go to places like H.A.A. The strong had been born with silver spoons in their mouths, and the people like her had to scramble and fight for the strength they never got. Then Meruem came along and gave her a purpose, an easy solution to balance out strengths in the world. Komugi refused to become like them though, and Neferpitou was slightly worried that she would end up changing Meruem’s mindset. Which would be bad because the world would stay unfair and cruel and all she had gone through would have been for absolutely nothing. She was sure her other comrades felt the same way, so the three “guards” as they were called all mutually had something against the innocent girl.)

“Just do as I instructed – let them lead you away. Show them even if their plans go perfectly, even if they fight us in tip top shape…” Meruem paused his game to look up, pink eyes glowing maliciously. “…that even the strongest can be defeated.”

Neferpitou smirked. She would show them – she wasn’t the weak girl with barely any aura before. No, she had climbed up, even higher than the people of H.A.A.

“Pouf, get the solders. We’ll give them a nice, warm, welcome.”

* * *

They ran into trouble as soon as they entered territory. As if they had been expected.

“Shit,” said Wing as the horde of dark masses came rushing towards them.

_ Each and every single one of these people were like Zushi – human. _

_ But now… they’ve become monsters. _

Gon felt his chest constrict. He didn’t want to fight them. They used to be  _ people,  _ how could he even begin to hurt them? But Killua, besides him, didn’t seem to care, as he sent an arc of purple electricity into the horde, and about five of them instantly turned into ash.

“KILLUA!” Gon screamed.

Killua merely glanced over. “Gon, I know… but there’s no way to bring them back. Death is the better option.”

Gon couldn’t find a better argument to rebuttal his best friend so he reluctantly began to fight back. It was hectic – fire here, random growing vine there, feathers flying in the air, claws extending to swipe and kill. But the army never seemed to dwindle in size and Gon was beginning to become tired.

“Just… how many… are there?” huffed Bisky as she sent a giant ball of shiny metal down. (She had an affinity for metals, apparently). “They’re easy to kill but there’s too many.”

They would need a miracle to get onto step one of their plan. They were already failing…

…their miracle came in the shape of a red-haired magician.

“You all seem to be in a bit of a pickle, hm~?”

_ Where the hell did he come from?  _ Gon thought to himself as Hisoka smirked. He wore the same clownish outfit as before, except this time he had a pair of large, red wings on his back.

“You all go ahead – I’ll deal with these monsters~” Hisoka calmly said as a bit of his hair lit up in flames.

Kite took a step forwards. “Hisoka, why are you even here?”

“What you don’t appreciate my help~?”

Gon frowned – he was annoying, but they definitely needed some help. During their small research period on who Hisoka was, all the four had found was something about him being an upperclassmen. But the fire all over his body and wings were a helpful clue - something like Kurapika? No, Kurapika’s looked a bit different…  _ no time to question him now. We’ll have to trust him. _

“No, it’s not that but, you shouldn’t even be in this country. Not to mention us seven have been fighting these guys and still have been having trouble. You think you alone can take these guys on?” Wing questioned. Hisoka only grinned.

“We-ll,” Hisoka began, dragging out his words and ignoring the mass of zombie-creatures behind him. “All of you haven’t been using your powers to your full extent. You have other things to fight after this battle, correct?”

The silence answered his question.

“But I, unfortunately, don’t. So I am free to go all out. And I’m sure Ms. Bisky and Mr. Wing know the extent of my abilities, no?

“…fine,” Bisky said after a few seconds of consideration. “But if you die don’t blame us.”

“I won’t.”

“What’s Hisoka’s blood type?” Gon asked Kurapika as they moved on further into the palace. Kurapika looked down at Gon with surprise.

“I never told you? I suppose I forgot. I found out it was firebird blood… it’s like a cousin of the phoenix,” he explained.

When Gon looked back, the last thing he saw was Hisoka exploding into a fiery demon with crazy, golden eyes and red feathered wings before they finally found their targets.

* * *

 

After that, the plan went easier than expected.

Almost  _ too  _ easily, the group divided into three and lured away each Guard individually into isolated areas.

Neferpitou – Netero had told him that their target looked female and had sphinx features. But who knew what other mystical animal body parts she had? After all, all Guards had been successful in taking other people’s blood with the help of a chimera blessing.

And to no surprise, Neferpitou not only had white cat ears and large questioning eyes that resembled a sphinx, she also had a purple tail similar to Killua’s and one kitsune-like arm. Her knees were green and scaly – she looked like someone had spun a slot machine of different things. Spider legs suspiciously like Zushi’s also protruded from her back.

Gon willed a bit of power from the werewolf’s blessing to leak through, giving him more strength and agility, and charged.

They were in an empty basement-like chamber room, with bad lighting and dreary brick walls. Neferpitou seemed unfazed even if they were miles away from their King.

“I’ll show you what true strength is,” she cooed.

Then Neferpitou began to change form.

* * *

While Gon, Killua, and Kite quickly disappeared with Neferpitou, Kurapika and Leorio were left to deal with Youpi.

Youpi was by far the most diverse out of all of them. What kind of blood he had originally, they couldn’t tell. His skin was a strange shade of blood red and he had six arms rather than two, and his feet were more of black claws than humanoid legs.

“So, you rats are finally here.”

Oh, so they had been expected? That was definitely disadvantageous… but Kurapika did his best to act unfazed.

“Time to teach you scum a lesson.”

_ We’ll have to deal with it,  _ the phoenix thought to himself grimly.  _ The rest is up to you, Netero. _

* * *

Similarly, Wing and Bisky were facing a monstrosity of a bug.

Bisky had never liked seeing bugs up close, and seeing Pouf definitely reminded her why. Half of his face resembled a butterfly’s, matching the beautifully colored butterfly wings on his back. But his legs started out resembling an actual ant before become more humanoid then becoming white scaled paws.

No words were spoken – like some sort of invisible alarm, the three snapped into combat as soon as Wing finished his wyvern transformation and was currently half-dragon looking.

"Ooh, a Wyvern blood! Maybe I’ll add that to my collection – it’ll complete my legs…” Pouf causally commented as a string of webbing came from his wrists.

_ Spider man. Great,  _ Bisky grumbled to herself as she jumped out of harm’s way.

Who knew bugs could be so deadly.

* * *

While the three groups finally engaged in battle, Netero solemnly made his way for the throne room.

They had been expected. That didn’t change the plan too much – as long as everyone survived, it would be fine. He wasn’t particularly worried. He had, after all, sent powerful and trustworthy people to fight.

What  _ did  _ change the plan was the girl.

The two were playing a board game, of all things. One of them had conducted thousands of human experiments and the other was innocent as could be. What was he supposed to do? If they fought in that room, the girl would surely die…

Meruem was a sight for sore eyes. His skin was green, with no traces of humanity left in his bug-like legs, furry tail, and scaled abdomen. His face was the only thing that even  _ resembled  _ a human, with pink eyes and a rather normal looking nose and a mouth.

“Welcome to my playground, human.”

Netero realized what he said was true – this… Chimera was truly no longer a human. He was a  _ monster. _

He took a deep breath and closed his palms together.

“Nice to meet you too, Chimera.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The battlefield is full... well thanks so much for reading, everyone


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, the fic could have been longer, but I did my best in the time i was given for the hxhbb. The final chapter is right after this one but I may or may not have a second fic planned...

Kurapika extended his wings and flew forward.

White flames licked at his skin and enveloped his whole body, making him look like a silver bullet. He hit one of Youpi’s arms, and it burned off.

But the ant seemed unfazed as the appendage regenerated as not one, but two new arms. He grinned. “Hydra blood is so useful, wouldn’t you agree?”

Leorio let out a  _ tch.  _ “Are you the one who took made Zushi like you guys?” He recalled Zushi having regenerative abilities as well.

Youpi shrugged. “You think I remember the name of everyone I kill? But if you’re talking about the one with Hydra stuff… I’m pretty sure Neferpitou is the one who took most of that. Your friends should be figuring that out by now.”

It wasn’t long into battle when Kurapika realized they were clearly the ones at a disadvantage. Youpi had more brute strength than the two of them combined, not to mention he had more stamina. Kurapika and Leorio had used a lot of their energy before Hisoka had come in, and now they were feeling the effects of fatigue.

Kurapika let his flames grow hotter. He couldn’t fail, people depended on him and they were expected to defeat the Chimera Ant.

_ It’s do or die. _

Those were his last thoughts before he felt a piercing appendage impale him in the heart.

* * *

Bisky and Wing weren’t doing much better.

Webbing turned out to be more troublesome than originally perceived. It was annoyingly sticky and Bisky found herself accidentally stepping into the mess more than once even if she had successfully dodged the stringy mess the first time.

Wing came over and cut the webbing for Bisky once again as she picked up a piece of iron from the internal structure of the building and hauled it over.

Pouf moved gracefully over, dodging with ease.

“Bisky, I think you’re going to have to transform and fly…”

Bisky glared at Wing. She hated flying and hadn’t in years but she knew it to be true. Reluctantly, she spread her wings, willing her body to lose her young-human form.

A griffin was not a pretty creature, and as much as she despised it, it was definitely powerful. She had more non-human blood than most and the fact was evident when she transformed.

Her face turned a bit masculine, but was still humanoid, and so was her torso and arms. But that was where her human features ended – below waist was a lion’s lower body, with pink plumage on her back. Her hands were clawed like a birds.

Wing transformed as well, but his wasn’t as drastic as Bisky’s. Both of his arms turned into scaled claws as well as his feet, and they also climbed up his neck.

Bisky flew upwards and came down with pieces of stray metal hurtling down just as Wing let a loose torrent of wind out.

* * *

Things had been going well for Gon, Killua, and Kite for a while.

Then, things went awry.

The room they were in was in poor shape – the ceiling had caved in one part, revealing night skies above. The walls were filled with cracks and holes. Debris lay around everywhere and Gon kept on stepping onto the stray pieces by accident and managed to tear his shoes to ribbons.

They weren’t winning, but they hadn’t been losing either. Until, that is, Gon began to get careless.

A simple mistake. Gon hadn’t paid attention to where Neferpitou was (right next to him) when he had tried to complete a complicated, long spell that would grow healing herbs.

All too suddenly, he felt claws dig into his arms before they were roughly ripped out by another body. “Get back!” Screamed Kite.

Kite tumbled over and had no time to put up a light barrier, and Pitou pounced.

Gon reacted too late. Killua, despite his speed, didn’t make it in time. Her spidery back extended and pierced Kite in the throat, successfully severing his head.

He was still in shock as Killua grabbed his shirt and ran out.

* * *

By the time Gon regained his senses, they were far away.

“P-Put me down,” he managed to choke out. Killua obeyed and sheepishly looked away. “We have to go back – we need to…”

Gon trailed off.  _ We need to what…? _

“What are we, cowards! We can still fight… we… we have to avenge Kite. We have to  _ fight…” _

Killua’s expression contorted into something painful. “Gon, if we went back there, we would  _ die.  _ We were only doing fine so far because we had Kite and now Kite is…”

He never got to finish the sentence – Gon was running back.

Killua, as usual, was left behind until he decided to secretly follow him.

* * *

“Komugi… leave now,” said Meruem softly. Netero raised his eyes but made no comment.

“Eh? But what about our game?”

“I need to discuss with someone first. You can find your way to the second floor, right? There should be no one there.”

The girl nodded and left, snot dripping out of her nose.  _ She’s blind,  _ Netero realized as she noisily left the room, hitting her walking stick on the floor to guide her.

Finally, the two were left alone.

“How are you enjoying your stay here?” Meruem causally asked while putting away the game board. Netero saw that it was gungi.

“Cut the small talk. Is there a particular reason you’re doing this?”

Meruem let out a loud, yet empty, laugh. “There’s always a reason behind someone’s actions, whether that someone be a human or a monster.”

Netero only stared in curiosity. “Care to explain?”

“You wouldn’t understand. Since you’ve been strong from the start.”

“You’d be surprised,” Netero casually responded.

“Oh really? Is that a challenge?”

Netero simply stilled himself and clapped his palms together again. This time, the sound reverberated around the room, hitting Meruem with a wave of magic.

Meruem’s tail slightly twitched behind him as he ran forward full speed, arms outstretched and ready for battle.

* * *

Gon didn’t realize he was being followed.

He had only one thing on his mind –  _ go back to Kite. _

Kite was his savior in many occasions. Gon wouldn’t be  _ alive  _ if it weren’t for Kite. He had saved him once, twice, and now a third time… with his life?

No, no… he couldn’t be dead.  _ There’s no way he’s alive,  _ a voice in the back of his mind whispered.  _ You saw it yourself – his head flew off.  _ That was Pitou’s fault.  _ That was your fault. _

Gon went with the easier option, and pushed the blame onto Pitou and directed his grief into pure anger.

When he got back, he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting – Pitou smiling and laughing over Kite’s death? Using Kite? Taking his kitsune blood?

Of all scenarios he had imagined, he had not expected Pitou to still be in the same room, tenderly caring to another person.

A new sort of rage filled Gon.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he screamed, wildly lashing out. Pitou jumped and protectively stood around the girl.

He couldn’t believe it.  _ Why is she acting kind all of a sudden? Why is she pretending to care about another person? She’s a murderer – Kite’s dead body is right there and she she think’s its ok to help another person? _

The person she was tending to had similar white hair and a snotty nose, along with a dirtied dress. The lower part of her body was crushed underneath a part of the ceiling that had presumably fallen on top of her. Pitou was doing her best to clear the rubble. She was babbling nonsense.

“M-m-meruem is being attacked I think… who’s there…? Please, help him… ignore me I can get out by myself…”

Pitou made a shushing sound as she struggled. “Our King values you highly. I’ll get you out, just ignore everyone else – you’re safe…”

_ Why is she taking her time? If she has the power to kill, she obviously has enough power to get rid of some stupid piece of ceiling. _

“I said, get  _ away  _ from her you monster,” Gon repeated. Pitou scowled and that was when he noticed her right arm – it was bent at all the wrong angles.

_ She deserved that,  _ Gon thought to himself.

“Please… let me help her,” Pitou begged. “Meru- Our king will be crushed if he realizes she died. This person is very important to him… so please. You can fight me after I help her.”

Pitou got onto her knees and Gon growled.

“How long will that take?”

She paused, considering her options. “It’ll take about an hour for me to move all of this with one hand…”

Gon bristled. “You want me to wait  _ one whole hour? Just for this… girl?”  _ He had to take a deep breath to try and control himself. “You… why are you acting like you’re a kind person? You’re just a murderer with no heart and soul, so stop acting like you actually care about her!”

Pitou’s expression shifted into something darker. “I can very well assure you I have a heart.”

“Then why did you kill Kite?”

For that she had no answer.

The person under the rubble spoke. “P-please, mister, they all have good intentions. Please don’t fight them…”

Gon felt something break within him.

“Good… intentions…?” Gon chuckled lowly. “Why am I the one being antagonized here? Good intentions? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HOW… HOW IS KILLING HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE A GOOD INTENTION? HOW IS TURNING ZUSHI INTO A MONSTER A GOOD INTENTION? HOW IS ANY OF THIS… GOOD?”

Darkness arose from him and he felt the werewolf blessing within him stir a bit. Screaming, he punched the nearby wall. The entire surface cracked and crumbled, but amazingly held still.

Then a hand was on his shoulder. He turned around to see Killua, staring with concerned yet somewhat scared eyes. “Gon please… calm down.”

That only made Gon angrier. “YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN THERES A MONSTER IN THE SAME ROOM FOR ME? THIS… THIS ISN’T FAIR!” Gon went to his knees, unwanted hears running down his cheeks. When had he started crying?

“I never asked for any of this…”

Pitou broke out into laughter.  _ “You  _ never asked for any of this? What about ME?  _ I  _ never asked for any of this. You’re a student at H.A.A. academy… you’re blessed with power. People respect you. Me? I was born with sphinx blood and no blessing. Do you know what sphinx blood does? It makes you look like a cat. That’s it. Nothing else. I was abandoned by my own parents because I was so weak…” her quiet voice somehow became even quieter. “Then Meruem came along and gave me what you all take for granted – power. And now that I’m finally strong –“ her voice broke. “Now that I-I’m finally strong, I’m suddenly the bad guy. You don’t  _ deserve  _ to say, ‘it’s not fair.’”

Silence hung stickily in the air and now it was Gon’s turn to laugh. “I’m sorry, what? Just because you’ve suffered doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have issues of my  _ own.  _ Just because you suffered doesn’t give you the right to  _ kill Kite! I NEVER ASKED FOR POWER! I NEVER ASKED FOR WEREWOLF’S BLESSING! I NEVER ASKED FOR TWO OF ‘EM. I NEVER ASKED FOR MY DAD TO ABANDON ME? BUT GUESS WHAT? ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAPPENED! IT’S NOT FAIR… IT’S NOT FAIR KITE DIED – IT…  _ it should of have been me…”

His voice drastically softened and he abruptly felt a slap across his face. “Don’t – don’t you  _ dare  _ say that. Don’t you  _ dare  _ throw away your life like that. It was Kite’s choice to sacrifice himself so don’t waste it right after he  _ died for you!” _

Quiet. Then, a soft, “you really don’t care about Kite, do you, Killua? I bet you’re always proud to have such a powerful blessing and unique blood – weaker people like Kite aren’t important to you, right?”

Killua sucked in a deep breath. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again like some sort of fish. “I… I never asked for any of this either, Gon,” he said weakly. “Having such a powerful blessing is so hard… everyone in my family expects so much for and I can’t live up to any of them… people treat me like I’m an actual demon – I thought  _ you  _ of all people would understand, Gon.” His azure eyes filled with tears. Gon looked away. “And I do care about Kite, but I you shouldn’t kill any innocent people.”

“INNOCENT? NONE OF THEM ARE INNOCENT!” the dark and harsh anger was back in full force. “SHE’S WITH A MURDERER!”

“YOU’RE GOING TO BECOME A MURDERER TOO GON, JUST LISTEN!”

But Gon would not listen. Not to Killua, not to Pitou – no.

_ I don’t care anymore. _

_ Kite. Zushi. Everyone who’s suffered. _

_ This is for you. _

He had never tried to use his werewolf blessing before. But now, he closed his eyes and focused, doing his best to ignore the steady pulse of the Queen Nymph’s blessing and reach even deeper.

_ There it is. _

Transforming felt strange. He immediately fell over and felt thick, brown fur growing all over his body. His clothes adjusted accordingly, hiding the purple mark which was now on his chest. He didn’t hear Killua’s screams or Pitou’s rough cursing as she finally removed Komugi from under the rubble and pushed her away.

He opened his eyes and it took a few blinks to adjust. Standing on fours felt strange yet strangely comforting.

Then, Gon lashed out.

It was a frenzy of growls from both ends. From the corner of his vision, Gon saw Killua helplessly try to help in some way.

Pitou’s spider legs stabbed into Gon’s sides and he retaliated with bites and claws, scratching at her skin and causing multiple purple marks to show up. With a bark, Gon jumped back and felt magic within him build.

_ More speed. More stamina. More magic. More power. _

He latched onto Pitou’s broken arm and managed to snap it off. Pitou winced but did not scream as the appendage flew out. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth and he took time to spit out the disgusting fluid.

His first mistake. He felt claws extend and dig into his back.

It dug right into the center of his blessing mark, disrupting the flow of magic.

Gon howled, feeling the transformation and power leaving.  _ No.  _ It couldn’t end like this… Gon had a job to do. Ignoring the pain on his back, Gon leaped forward one final time, digging his jaws into Pitou’s neck.

_ “GON!” _

Ah. Killua was still there. He looked back for a second – and saw his best friend, whole body running with electricity and demon-tail frantically whipping back and forth. A single tear left his eye.

_ I’m… sorry. _

_ But I can't stop now. _

Then he snapped his mouth shut and Pitou let out one final bloody gasp. Gon let go, the rip in his back already taking effect and his transformation fading back into human.

He didn’t have time to realize Killua was rushing towards him as he passed out, the taste of blood still fresh in his mouth.

* * *

No matter how many time Netero hit Meruem, he still got up.

But he was still taking damage. By the hundredth time, Meruem got up with a shaky limp. Netero extended his hand and brought Meruem to the ground once again.

“You said you had a reason for doing all of this. I’d like to say I’m genuinely curious,” Netero said almost-cheerily as Meruem glared from the ground, nose bleeding.

“…I want to balance this unfair world…” he started, making no effort to get up. “In this universe, there is the weak and the strong. The strong have everything – power, status, privileges. The weak, on the other hand, have nothing. The universe randomly chooses who gets to be strong or not, even if the strong haven’t done anything worthy. You disgusting fools have made that separation even more drastic after installing that school.”

Netero paused in deep thought. “That is very true. But in this world, only the strong survive and that is the way things work.”

“But that’s not  _ fair!”  _ Meruem snarled, getting up and whipping his tail. Netero felt his knee crumble from the sheer force of the appendage. “And I can fix that. With chimera blessings, I can give the weak power. I can make things fair. Do you see now why you wouldn’t understand?”

Netero clucked his tongue. “If this were a different universe… we could of have been friends. But you’ve misunderstood. While the weak may not of have chosen to be weak… in the same way, the strong have not chosen to be strong.”

He let down another hand and Meruem fell back down.

“You’re wrong. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh does it?” challenged Netero. “Take a look at the students I brought with me. Gon never asked for a werewolf’s blessing, I’m sure. Now he suffers with prejudice from the people who know his true identity every day. He’s treated as a monster. Killua as well. He never wanted a thunderbird’s blessing or akuma blood. Leorio dreams of becoming a doctor, a healer, but was gifted with by a Warlock, giving him magic specifically meant to hurt and destroy. Kurapika is the last Phoenix blooded and blessed person left, and his whole entire family was targeted and killed for their powers.”

He paused, letting Meruem up once more before slamming him down. “They all have strength, but strength comes with a heavy price.  _ You  _ are the one who  wouldn’t understand.”

Meruem bit his lips then shook his head. “No… you’re wrong…” he repeated, but now his voice was reluctant. Netero knew he had hit the target.

“But I’ve come too far to change my mind. I was born with a powerful blessing myself – but I learned that the strong should use their strength to help the weak, not boast. And I plan to continue that revelation.”

Well. He tried. “I’m afraid I must follow my own rules myself. While this world is corrupt, what you are doing will only make things even more chaotic.”

Netero let all of his magic loose.

* * *

He had been winning.

Winning until the girl returned.

“PLEASE, DON’T!” she screamed as she stumbled in, limping heavily as he walked. Meruem abruptly snapped his head at the sound of her voice and weakly said, “Komugi… you’re not safe here.”

Komugi pouted. “Meruem-san, are you ok? Y-you sound like you’re dying.”

He was. “Ah… I am dying. If you stay here any longer, you’ll die too.”

She didn’t move. Netero wasn’t sure what to do. “If I were to die… I would like to be next to you as I do.”

Meruem froze. “Komugi, what-“

“I’m already dying as well,” she said firmly, and it was then Netero realized a part of her leg was gone.  _ What… .happened? What happened between the cat and Gon?  _ “If it’s ok I… would like to play one final game of gungi.”

They both stared at Netero expectantly. He sighed and then helped Komugi across the room.

“Thank you… I have just one favor, Netero,” Meruem said matter of factly. “Do something. Anything. Just, change the world.”

Netero solemnly nodded and left the two. He wasn’t expecting this kind of victory but – it was a victory nonetheless. A bittersweet feeling was left in his mouth.

Maybe – just maybe – he had made friends with Meruem in his last moments.

“I swear this world gets crazier and crazier every day…”

* * *

Shaiapouf had seen it all.

His heart was beating wildly as tears streamed down his face. He watched in agony, and their King –  _ their King –  _ actually surrender. Accept someone else’s ideals. Throw away his life. All for a game of  _ gungi. _

He would of have swooped down to fight Netero himself. But he didn’t for he didn’t know if he would survive any more battles – he had barely escaped Wing and Bisky, and they were bound to find him once they saw the trail of blood he left behind.

Not to mention  _ the mood.  _ He supported Meruem with all his heart – he was supposed to change the world for the better, help used-to-be weaklings like him finally get a chance at the top.

But…  _ it was that human’s fault.  _ She had changed him, changed his ideals. He was supposed to support Meruem – but this wasn’t the Meruem he knew anymore.

What was the point anymore? Their plan had failed. The world would stay stagnant – he didn’t trust Netero’s word.

He had climbed to the top, and now he was falling. There was nothing to do, no reason to keep on fighting.

When Bisky and Wing found him, he gave no fight and let himself be killed.

* * *

Kurapika had come back to life.

He had dodged death by a hair – right before Youpi had impaled his chest, Kurapika let his flames burn him to ash.

He had only done this two times before, and Kurapika always felt weird afterwards. He blinked and felt his body on the cold floor, then pushed himself upwards. His body was new, and covered in soot.

Leorio let a strangled gasp from somewhere behind him.

“J-Jesus Christ, Kurapika! I thought you  _ died.  _ Don’t do shit like that again,” he said, then added, “please.”

“I did die,” Kurapika said softly. “How long did it take for me to regenerate?”

“Not that long but enough time for Youpi to run away.”

“He ran away?”

“Yeah… I didn’t see him, but Youpi apparently saw Netero. So he ran away.”

Kurapika shivered and gratefully took Leorio’s coat jacket. His clothes were lying a few feet away – they were made from a special cotton that was immune to fire. Leorio handed that to him as well.

“Well, let’s go after him,” Kurapika said and tried to get up. He embarrassingly had to lean on Leorio to do so.

“You ok? You just came back from the dead… uh, so are you like immortal?”

 

Kurapika shook his head. “No, I only survived that because I burned myself up. But after that I have to wait months or even years to regenerate like that.”

“Okay, so you shouldn’t strain yourself. He went that way…”

They found Youpi.

Dead.

“Suicide…” Kurapika realized. “He must of have known Meruem died and killed himself.”

An uneasy silence filled the air. Solemnly, Leorio used the remaining bit of magic left to dig a grave (a bit messily) and put the dead body in. Kurapika found a rather large stone from the crumbled building and put it on top as some sort of gravestone.

“We were supposed to kill him anyways,” Leorio said grumpily after paying his respects. “I don’t know why we’re doing this.”

“I think we both know why.”

Leorio didn’t response.

And they did know. Youpi, while he didn’t look like it, was just as human as the both of them.

Without words, they retreated with heavy hearts.

They didn’t know it at the time, but from time to time Leorio and Kurapika would come back to to visit.

 


	9. Chapter 9 - Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a short wrap up, not an actual chapter, sorry!

Hisoka had disappeared. He left no trace behind, except for dead bodies of Things. He wasn’t even at H.A.A anymore.

They gave Kite a proper burial after finding his body, and Gon did not go.

He couldn’t – he had been immediately hospitalized after Killua had brought his broken, bloody body back. His arm had torn, permanently damaging his Werewolf Blessing.

“He won’t be transforming again any time soon,” Leorio tried to joke as he tended to his wounds again.

It took months for him to awaken from his coma, and months to come up to Killua to apologize.

Killua accepted it – his heart still hurt, but he accepted it.

The first year of H.A.A. ended without further incident. The situation with everyone in Team Z was tender and fragile, and it threatened to break almost every day. Death. Grieving. Broken promises. They were all hard to deal with but as time passed, everything slowly began to heal itself.

Lunches felt empty without Zushi. Not to mention there was a lot more things the four needed to sort out – like Killua’s family situation. Or Kurapika’s past with the group of dragon-blessed mass murderers. Or his missing father. Or their grades, which had dwindled in the past months. Plus, there was some sort of school wide competition for title of Best Team…

For once in his life, Gon felt that he had enough drama for one year and decided summer break would be nice.

* * *

For the summer, Gon went home. It would be good – some time to himself, away from the toxic air of the city.

Mito embraced him with loving arms and Gon found that he had missed the familiar smell and forest of Whale Island. A lot of his abilities and magic had disappeared in the incident, but H.A.A. was still willing to enroll him next year. So he spent most of his summer days, training his body once again and doing his best with catch-up work from the year before.

He tried to enjoy his days in isolation – something he had despised before.

Things back in the city were nowhere near perfect. What the Chimera Ants had been fighting for was a very real problem. Tension was still between the four. Killua and Gon hadn’t really made up. Gon expressed everything to Mito, who listened attentively and let Gon cry on her shoulders.

Yet, if Mito had to describe Gon in one word, it would be lucky.

Lucky to be alive. Lucky to have such blessings, to have such power. Even if it sometimes felt like a curse – Gon was lucky. He was lucky to have great friends, although their relationships weren’t perfect at the moment, she was sure time and patience would properly fix everything. He was lucky that he wouldn’t be prejudiced against anymore.

The problem with “strong” and “weak” people was still prevalent (and even more so now that Gon properly looked around him) but Gon had faith. He would be starting his second year of H.A.A. soon – with the same team, same classmates, same teachers. That meant a new year for new opportunities for change. Gon surprisingly had missed it all.

Mito found herself laughing as Gon departed – it was only his second year, so what could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END.  
> Honestly, I'm not that happy of how this fic turned out - and I do plan on writing a second fic but it might take a while to finish that up. In the meanwhile, I have some Haikyuu!! fics planned/already written so that'll happen really soon. Thank you so much everyone for reading, leaving a comment, or giving kudos. Every action really means a lot to me, even if it's to give me criticism.   
> Bye!

**Author's Note:**

> you can come scream at me on my [tumblr](http://allu-ria.tumblr.com)


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